Cash is king. Totally anonymous, easy to carry and works when there’s no power grid. Long live cash.
Banks, gangsters and the strange resurgence of cash
121–130 of 254 posts
Re: Banks, gangsters and the strange resurgence of cash
#122All noncash methods of payment have strings attached where consumers and merchants alike are subject to various controls and costs. Cash is simple, exchange something in your posession for goods and services. It cannot be used as a means of identity based regulation or to audit who is buying what from whom. I mean, bitcoin exists because of how unacceptable this is to everyone but the middlemen, bureaucrats and purse…
Oddly - cash can be, and appears to be, widely tracked. Many ATMs scan serial numbers of bills, and network analysis of that data can be VERY informative.
Re: Banks, gangsters and the strange resurgence of cash
#123Earlier quoted context omitted.
Granted I live in Japan, but I carry a coinpurse (an old camera bag) because the 10-yen, 100-yen, and 500-yen coins are so useful. Vending machines are on practically every corner here, and the drink sizes are such that $1.20 for a drink is normal. I think most US vending machines have gigantic cans of Coca-Cola / Red Bull / Monster for $3+. The US probably could get by with just $1 and $5 coins.
What's the value of coins? Paper and plastic notes seems more convenient in most cases. Metal coins seem like a case of holding onto tradition despite losing the original reason for the tradition.
On the other end here in India there are few vending machines, but mostly are now based on digital payments.
Re: Banks, gangsters and the strange resurgence of cash
#124Earlier quoted context omitted.
You go to a reputable dealer with cash, and buy what you want. If you’re clear you are doing a cash only deal no name, you’re good. They’ll issue you an invoice made out to walk in or whatever, so you have documentation, and if you want, you can pay taxes on gains or whatever later. It IS getting harder to get cash out of a bank without jumping through endless hoops, but most banks will still let you call in an order…
> so if a cop pulls you over you can prove it is documented/part of a ‘legal’ source Which the cop will promptly ignore and take the money anyway.
Which if you have a dashcam, paperwork, and lawyers could put him in jail or get you shot.
You do have enough lawyers right?
Re: Banks, gangsters and the strange resurgence of cash
#125Earlier quoted context omitted.
Pseudo-relevant anecdote: I wanted to buy a used car a few months ago off someone on Facebook. We were meeting up same day so the easiest method seemed to be cash. I went to the bank to withdraw $7000 and was informed, much to my surprise, that it is impossible to withdraw more than $3000 without 48 hours notice. Suffice it to say, I've been seriously considering the tradeoffs of hoarding cash under my mattress.
You're not that many steps away from being a gold bug or a bitcoin hodler.
Depending on your hobbies, having access to cash to make purchases is pretty important. (Do you collect arcade machines, vintage bikes or vintage anything else? If so, you might want to buy something with cash that costs a $1000 or two).
For a while last year, bank branches had pretty limited hours, and I bank with a out of state credit union (because they have decent interest rates, even if that's 0.5% these days), and some co-op network branches weren't doing shared branching either. So, if I want to be able to buy something over my daily ATM limit, I had to hoard cash, since I couldm't be sure I'd have access to it.
Of course, prices haven't been great for buyers on most things (although I did pick up a well priced Street Fighter II Turbo early last summer and a not terribly priced tandem this spring; lots more nice things went at prices I'm not willing to pay)
Re: Banks, gangsters and the strange resurgence of cash
#126Earlier quoted context omitted.
Granted I live in Japan, but I carry a coinpurse (an old camera bag) because the 10-yen, 100-yen, and 500-yen coins are so useful. Vending machines are on practically every corner here, and the drink sizes are such that $1.20 for a drink is normal. I think most US vending machines have gigantic cans of Coca-Cola / Red Bull / Monster for $3+. The US probably could get by with just $1 and $5 coins.
What's the value of coins? Paper and plastic notes seems more convenient in most cases. Metal coins seem like a case of holding onto tradition despite losing the original reason for the tradition.
As you said, in most cases. Mechanical (no electronics) vending machines are only possible with coins and even with electronics, sorting/recognising coins is far easier than notes. A basic coin also takes more effort to forge (well enough to pass at a gas station) than a basic note, although notes seeming everywhere else but the US have obvious safety features that completely beat coins.
They're also much easier to handle when you need many different ones, like when you're trying to assemble an exact amount. I can just look into my wallet and pick out the coins I need, whereas with notes, I'd have to spread them out like an awkward floppy hand of cards and especially if they weren't distinct enough scanning through and finding the right ones sounds plain annoying.
Re: Banks, gangsters and the strange resurgence of cash
#127All noncash methods of payment have strings attached where consumers and merchants alike are subject to various controls and costs. Cash is simple, exchange something in your posession for goods and services. It cannot be used as a means of identity based regulation or to audit who is buying what from whom. I mean, bitcoin exists because of how unacceptable this is to everyone but the middlemen, bureaucrats and purse…
Oddly - cash can be, and appears to be, widely tracked. Many ATMs scan serial numbers of bills, and network analysis of that data can be VERY informative.
Do you have a source? How valuable is knowing the serial number of an ATM dispensed bill?
Very little cash is deposited into an ATM. Any time I’ve deposited cash I’ve never seen it scanned (it goes into the drawer).
And if it were scanned at multiple points think of the cash in a register at a store? How many transactions does it go through before getting scanned again? Especially smaller bills?
Seeing that a bill was dispensed at an ATM on Market St in San Francisco then deposited by a restaurant in San Mateo 1 month later tells you what exactly?
Re: Banks, gangsters and the strange resurgence of cash
#128Earlier quoted context omitted.
Granted I live in Japan, but I carry a coinpurse (an old camera bag) because the 10-yen, 100-yen, and 500-yen coins are so useful. Vending machines are on practically every corner here, and the drink sizes are such that $1.20 for a drink is normal. I think most US vending machines have gigantic cans of Coca-Cola / Red Bull / Monster for $3+. The US probably could get by with just $1 and $5 coins.
Last vending machine I used had cans for 75¢ and bottles for $1.25.
Damn a $0.75 can is cheap even by Japanese standards, and I'm assuming that's a US-standard 12FL OZ can (bigger than Japanese ones too).
Re: Banks, gangsters and the strange resurgence of cash
#129All noncash methods of payment have strings attached where consumers and merchants alike are subject to various controls and costs. Cash is simple, exchange something in your posession for goods and services. It cannot be used as a means of identity based regulation or to audit who is buying what from whom. I mean, bitcoin exists because of how unacceptable this is to everyone but the middlemen, bureaucrats and purse…
Oddly - cash can be, and appears to be, widely tracked. Many ATMs scan serial numbers of bills, and network analysis of that data can be VERY informative.
But how would they track spending then?
Re: Banks, gangsters and the strange resurgence of cash
#130Earlier quoted context omitted.
There has also been a shortage of metal coins, because physical exchange isn't happening as much during covid. Although, I still personally believe that coins at least up to the US quarter should probably be abolished. Quarters are really the only thing semi useful as a medium of exchange, and even they are starting to lose their utility. Maybe dollar coins can still be useful.
Granted I live in Japan, but I carry a coinpurse (an old camera bag) because the 10-yen, 100-yen, and 500-yen coins are so useful. Vending machines are on practically every corner here, and the drink sizes are such that $1.20 for a drink is normal. I think most US vending machines have gigantic cans of Coca-Cola / Red Bull / Monster for $3+. The US probably could get by with just $1 and $5 coins.
Vending machines in France usually have NFC readers to allow contactless payments by card or phone. It's so much more practical than carrying a bunch of coins.