BBC's "The End of Cash". Pros & cons of ending cash.

[LucasMcCain]

If the bank starts charging you to keep your money, you can withdraw it all in cash. How's that work in a cashless society? You're just screwed.

A while back my credit card and bank card got hacked at the same time. I pulled out some cash to use while I waited for new cards. What happens in the cashless society? I just can't buy food or anything until they investigate and sort things out?

What happens when the power is out?

What happens when the system itself is hacked?

I pay for most things with my rewards credit card. I am still vehemently against a cashless society. There are those it would benefit greatly, but we're not them.

[LucasMcCain]

Isn't that headed towards a one world order? Cannot buy or sell without accepting the mark of the beast 666 and all of that talked about in The Holy Bible?

Yes. Yes it is.

[Soccerdad1995]

Count me as one who is opposed to a cashless society. If people are afraid of getting robbed, then they are free to not carry any cash. But just like with guns, those people don't get to force their ideas onto me. And those same people better not wear any jewelry, or expensive shoes.

The only way I could see this working is if there was a truly anonymous electronic currency that could not be controlled by any government. Something like bitcoin. Otherwise, the government can come and take my cash at the same time that they come take my guns. That will be right after I have delivered all of my bullets to them, at high velocity.

[bblhd672]

Much like gun control, cash control isn't about the cash, it's about the control.

Once the government no longer has an armed citizenry to worry about, it is able to move to other forms of control and the control of money is got to be #2 on the list after firearms. Restricting freedom of speech and religion, peaceful assembly, due process, etc are very easy when the government has total control of your money. Think your neighbor will turn you in for illegal firearms and ammo or hoarding food and resources if the government threatens to turn off their money?

[Soccerdad1995]

Much like gun control, cash control isn't about the cash, it's about the control.

Once the government no longer has an armed citizenry to worry about, it is able to move to other forms of control and the control of money is got to be #2 on the list after firearms. Restricting freedom of speech and religion, peaceful assembly, due process, etc are very easy when the government has total control of your money. Think your neighbor will turn you in for illegal firearms and ammo or hoarding food and resources if the government threatens to turn off their money?

Control (restrict) weapons. Then money. Then comes information. As evidenced by recent leaks, mainstream media is already an arm of the democratic government leadership in this country. So you just need to restrict "rogue" communications, starting with the internet.

Justify it by all of the "self radicalized" terrorists who got their crazy ideas from these dangerous "unregulated" internet sites. Eliminate the anonymity of internet postings, and then employ various levels of harassment for anyone posting "radical" ideas. Once done, use similar tactics to shut down any radical / anti-government ideas that might be espoused in churches and other public places.

Complete and total population control has always been the goal of every totalitarian government. The one we have now is no exception.

[Archery1]

One of the reasons that banks would like to discourage using cash is that a real dollar deposited in a bank
can generate 9 times its worth by generating other loans. I'm not an economist with more detail, but
you get the idea.

This is a non-issue, actually. It's a simple function of money that is part of the money supply. If you have more money on hand than you spend, then you have a credit with the institution that holds your unspent money. It's all a series of electronic credits and debits to begin with.

[aero10]

I rarely use cash. Go to the post office and buy stamps. Do you get a discount paying by cash? No. But you do get cash back using your credit card. I get a hefty cash back on my spending by paying with credit card and paying off my credit card each month. There are very few places where using a credit card costs more (such as LTC renewal).

Granted, I always have cash on me; I just prefer to use a credit card for this exact reason.

[MechAg94]

If the Govt got rid of cash, something would immediately take it's place. It might be coins, it might be bottles of Tide, or toilet paper. There will always be a black market that will have some kind of cash equivalent for trade in addition to the people who just want something outside of the electronic currency.

My thought about Govt control was about government taking control of pay and income as well as just the money.

[bblhd672]

If the Govt got rid of cash, something would immediately take it's place. It might be coins, it might be bottles of Tide, or toilet paper. There will always be a black market that will have some kind of cash equivalent for trade in addition to the people who just want something outside of the electronic currency.

My thought about Govt control was about government taking control of pay and income as well as just the money.

Just bought more 5.56 ammo, now off to Sam's to buy a few cases of toilet paper! Talk about something maintaining it's value!!

[The Annoyed Man]

If the Govt got rid of cash, something would immediately take it's place. It might be coins, it might be bottles of Tide, or toilet paper. There will always be a black market that will have some kind of cash equivalent for trade in addition to the people who just want something outside of the electronic currency.

My thought about Govt control was about government taking control of pay and income as well as just the money.

Yeah, and just try to make three consecutive cash withdrawals of $4,999. The law says that a bank is supposed to flag $5000 cash withdrawals for the fed gov't, but the fact is that people have been arrested for cash withdrawals smaller than that, and their assets seized on spurious grounds. It's about control. 100%.

[omegaman]

I use cash for many transactions just because I don't like the government or my bank knowing more about my spending habits. The Bible warns us about the mark of the beast, when no one will be able to buy or sell without the mark, so I'm confident it will happen--probably within my lifetime and I'm in my 60s.

[chamberc]

Never carry cash, but have plenty of ammo and supplies.