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Pro-cash movement warns that people could be losing more than they bargained for

wsj.com

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Re: Pro-cash movement warns that people could be losing more than they bargained for

#11

Post by spaceman_2020 »

standardUser wrote: post #9

On a recent trip to Europe I didn't take out cash once over 3 weeks across 3 countries. I brought 50 euros with me and that was all I needed! Everything else was just a quick tap of the phone, including every metro system outside of Paris. My only hesitation to getting rid of cash entirely - how will I buy drugs? I don't gamble illegally or pay for sex, but I imagine those services would also struggle in an increasin…

The absence of cash should terrify anyone. So ridiculously easy to quash any dissidents if you can cut off their ability to buy anything with a single click of a button.

I don't use much cash at all but if my government was planning on ending all cash, I'd go out and buy a bunch of precious metals. Can't trust my basic freedom with Visa and Paypal.

Re: Pro-cash movement warns that people could be losing more than they bargained for

#12

Post by SoftTalker »

I encounter more businesses that only take cash than I do those that refuse it. A couple of local restaurants, and my barber. Though one of the restaurants recently also started accepting Zelle. I can't think of anyplace local that refuses cash but there are several others that offer a discount for cash.

Re: Pro-cash movement warns that people could be losing more than they bargained for

#13

Post by Seattle3503 »

My concerns about a cashless society are the power it hands to a few oligopolistic credit card processors. Look at what happened to Pornhub. Regardless of whether you think Pornhub was in the wrong, it is striking that a business was cut off from global financial system by a small number of credit card companies. This was done without due process and under no countries laws. That should scare us at least a little.

Re: Pro-cash movement warns that people could be losing more than they bargained for

#14

Post by seanmcdirmid »

shishy wrote: post #10

Cash is great. Can't be tracked, credit card companies don't get to discriminate against the poor and create negative feedback loop traps that they can't out of, it's easier to be financially responsible with it. Bit unfortunate too that paying with cash just adds a tax onto the poor since the fees are basically priced into goods sold at stores, typically regardless of whether or not cash is used. But yeah, nice to h…

> Is it mostly crime related shenanigans?

Not having to carry a wallet anymore. Never going to the ATM. No need to pocket loose change. Quicker checkout times.

Re: Pro-cash movement warns that people could be losing more than they bargained for

#15

Post by TheBlight »

standardUser wrote: post #9

On a recent trip to Europe I didn't take out cash once over 3 weeks across 3 countries. I brought 50 euros with me and that was all I needed! Everything else was just a quick tap of the phone, including every metro system outside of Paris. My only hesitation to getting rid of cash entirely - how will I buy drugs? I don't gamble illegally or pay for sex, but I imagine those services would also struggle in an increasin…

Drugs/gambling/prostitution may be considered contraband now (in some jurisdictions) but the decision over which goods/services fit that distinction is a political question so the answer will change with the political winds. Eliminating cash is inherently centralized: You can't pay someone directly for something. The transaction has to go through a walled-garden intermediary. This is a chokepoint where political policy can be enforced. It is a very useful and obvious tool for those with an authoritarian mindset-- or a utopian mindset but who knows if their idea of utopia will match yours.

Re: Pro-cash movement warns that people could be losing more than they bargained for

#16

Post by walterbell »

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2021/10/war-on-cash-nyc-enfo...

> In 1978, Massachusetts became the first to enact such a law, requiring retailers to accept cash and credit. In passing its ban in January 2020, NYC joined New Jersey, Philadelphia and San Francisco, which all approved such bans in 2019.. Two rationales motivated NYC’s ban. First was the large number of NYC residents – more than 10% – who lack bank accounts, and thus access to credit cards.. Second is general skepticism over the security of cashless transactions, with the NYT noting they raise “the specter of hackers stealing personal data tied to digital transactions.”

.. NYC went after the upscale Van Leeuwen ice cream shop for repeated violations of the cashless ban.. In October, the city charged the ice cream shop with 17 violations of the cashless ban and penalized the company with $12,750 in fines.

Re: Pro-cash movement warns that people could be losing more than they bargained for

#17

Post by seanmcdirmid »

Seattle3503 wrote: post #13

My concerns about a cashless society are the power it hands to a few oligopolistic credit card processors. Look at what happened to Pornhub. Regardless of whether you think Pornhub was in the wrong, it is striking that a business was cut off from global financial system by a small number of credit card companies. This was done without due process and under no countries laws. That should scare us at least a little.

How could a website function with cash payments at all?

Re: Pro-cash movement warns that people could be losing more than they bargained for

#18

Post by seanmcdirmid »

SoftTalker wrote: post #12

I encounter more businesses that only take cash than I do those that refuse it. A couple of local restaurants, and my barber. Though one of the restaurants recently also started accepting Zelle. I can't think of anyplace local that refuses cash but there are several others that offer a discount for cash.

Opposite in my part of the world. Lots of businesses aren’t taking a cash anymore. The only ones I know that deal with cash only are marijuana dispensaries, which are popular targets for thugs as a result.

Re: Pro-cash movement warns that people could be losing more than they bargained for

#19

Post by [deleted] »

jjgreen wrote: post #5
f5ve wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the context of the WSJ, cash doesn't mean physical currency . It just means dollars, i.e. not treasuries or any other type of asset. Most people would interpret that headline differently -- to the point of it being inaccurate. [edit: also the wordplay wouldn't work]

I'd never heard of that before, interesting, thanks; Rich people speak a foreign language ...

[deleted]

Re: Pro-cash movement warns that people could be losing more than they bargained for

#20

Post by wellthisisgreat »

People who want to go 100% cashless at the current state of tech progress / society are the enemies of humanity. They are advocates of totalitarian regimes and whatever comes with them, no matter what they glaze their poison with - convenience, crypto, futurism etc.
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