A Cashless Society Is Scary
Hey Jessies of the future
So with all this talk of cryptocurrency and attack on fiat, I think we like to dismiss physical cash as something that is archaic and has no place in the modern world. We've become hooked on digital everything these days and physical anything seems tedious but does your right to freedom and privacy mean that little to you?
A cashless society to me seems like the beginning of an Orwellian state and gives central governments and corporations way too much power over the individuals. Yes, we can argue that freedom is an illusion or the various extents of freedom but I don't think that telling me how to use my money/value I've acquired or suggestively funnelling my money into places where central bodies earn a massive profit is something we should be pushing for.
Physical cash for all its downsides still gives us the ability to transact with one another without being monitored every second of every day. It's an instant transaction, easy to understand and use and has become a native experience for all consumers across the world.
I hand you the cash you give me goods and services.
Image source - tyro.com
Going cashless comes at a cost
When you use a debit or credit card yes it's super easy but you're creating a complex data feed that can be used against you. It has what you buy, how much you spent, recurring purchases, where you buy physically and online, how much you earn, how much you save and so much more.
Your banking data is worth way more than what you put online if it wasn't would you not be posting your bank balances and shopping carts on Facebook?
No, I didn't think so, there's a certain element of privacy you think you have overspending but banks don't respect that, not in the slightest.
Banks sell a boring product no one gives a shit about how sexy you can make a loan or money transfers sound, it's lame, we use it because we are forced to, so banks need to come up with creative ways to make a profit off of your money as well as your data.
Collecting it and selling or leasing it to retailers and other financial institutions is one, they could even sell it to government departments and you wouldn't be any wiser. I've personally seen banks selling data off to stores for mutual gain and driving credit card purchases, it has become the norm.
Having the ability to opt-out
Cash at the moment allows us to opt-out of this surveillance society and even if you have a credit card you can still withdraw the cash and limit your banking footprint when you make purchases, yes it's annoying and costly but keeping off the radar means more to me than a few extra cents on transaction fees.
I used to be a cashless snob thinking I was so smart having no cash on me but one day a homeless person asked me for change, luckily I had some to give her, she was so grateful and it got me thinking. How will these people survive in a cashless society? People who don't have jobs or a device to transact, people who don't have ID's or are allowed to stay in a country?
In South Africa, our physical cash payments are still a large part of the economy and with poor access to the internet, overpriced internet and very little physical internet infrastructure, we still have a few more years before we're completely cashless when compared to developed nations.
Its scary thought to imagine someone knows everything about what you do, especially when we know how trustworthy governments are and how civil unrest can happen very quickly. Enemies of the state can be debanked and this doesn't even have to be some sort of radical person, we see it all the time.
Cryptocurrency may have to become the cash of the next generation, giving us a way to opt-out. Which is why I encourage people to perhaps not always buy some but try and earn some but keep some around. Having an alternative means of value you can trade could become invaluable especially in countries like mine that are always teetering on the edge of possible chaos.
Let's connect
If you liked this post sprinkle it with an upvote or resteem and if you don't already, consider following me @chekohler
| Buy & sell STEEM | Donate LikeCoin For Free | Earn Interest On Crypto |
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
To listen to the audio version of this article click on the play image.
Brought to you by @tts. If you find it useful please consider upvoting this reply.
I want my hookers and drug dealers to be cash only.. The moment a dope dealer asks me paper or plastic I'm going to go live in a cave..
Posted using Partiko Android
I have to strongly second that sentiment! Cash businesses are free market economy they know what’s up and they produce the goods or they know you’ll go elsewhere which regulates pricing
Not this bullshit 120% mark ups because I need to pay rent in a mall so use this card and sign up for loyalty programs that mean nothing
!ENGAGE 30
There has already been too much
ENGAGEtoday.To view or trade
ENGAGEgo to steem-engine.com.About 90% of my purchases are in cash as I want to keep as much of my information to myself and if we keep using cash it helps to keep it in use.
Posted using Partiko Android
It’s a bit of a hassle but I think it’s a smart move! I wish I could buy crypto here with cash I think I’d buy a lot more than I do now! Wish we had peer to peer places to trade
!ENGAGE 30
Crypto for cash would be sweet😀
Posted using Partiko Android
Indeed, I have purchased crypto from another steemian and did a paypal transfer once and I know @swapsteem had a marketplace but its been down lately. I'd also love to see more localized version lets say aussie steemians trading with one another who want AUD and so on.
Yes exactly that would be awesome 👍
Posted using Partiko Android
There has already been too much
ENGAGEtoday.To view or trade
ENGAGEgo to steem-engine.com.Crypto Currency will allow everyone to have their own bank account, even when the banks deny them one, because they don't know how to write or can't afford a bank account, or something like that.
Here's a good talk by Andreas Antonopoulos about the subject.
I agree, plenty of people well here in Africa I would say are debanked/unbanked or simply don't want to be banked, they prefer cash and with only 5% of the countries fiat being physical cash they're going to have a harder time trading as banks try to squeese it out or try to devalue it even further.
I think just like we leapfrogged landlines and went to mobile first we will do the same with finance and move directly into crypto much faster than you think. once the tech is discovered they find its free to use wallets/cheap to transfer and get the hang of it, its only up from there
!ENGAGE 20
There has already been too much
ENGAGEtoday.To view or trade
ENGAGEgo to steem-engine.com.In sweden a small village has there own honey-currencie . That is papermoney.
BUT they have some of the benefits that comes with crypto. It is a small and controlled currencie with a fixed inflation and value. ONE "dollar" is always worht a cup of honey.
I like the idea because they keep the value in the community (like crypto in some way).
But they do it in paper so they do not have to rely on internet.
Crypto is the future - papermoney is next? Or can they maybe live together in symbios someway.
Good blogpost - thanks !
That's pretty interesting I like that, people still bartering, in many parts of Africa we still trade with airtime and data so I might have $10 worth of data on my phone and I can send it to you to buy something. It's basically a crude version of digital money, which is why I think crypto will be something Africans will adopt quickly in the future once they get the hang of it.
I think they paper money, digital fiat and crypto will all live together for many years to come, they all serve a purpose and keep one another on their toes
!ENGAGE 30
I just was reading a newsarticle about this currencie and read that it is pretty common in France. In Paris they have Peach to pay with like a local currency.
In Sweden it is difficullt because the tax department want us to pay tax at everything. But I like the idea with local currencies.
I can imagine those scandanavian countries don’t play around when it comes to taxing your titties off! I’d also be trading in honey and peaches if I could reduce my tax burden
There has already been too much
ENGAGEtoday.To view or trade
ENGAGEgo to steem-engine.com.Yeah, we have to get better at using cash. We keep saying we are going to but then just use the card. I certainly try to use cash at local small stores and businesses. That to me is important, it’s less hassle for them and they get all the money instead of some plus s fee.
I'm also actively trying to use my cards less and I also try to support less franchises and more smaller businesses both online and offline where I can help it and its not too much of a bother. I am starting to keep more cash on me lately and the change, well theres so many people begging for it here I geuss they reap the benefits of me wanting less tracking
!ENGAGE 20
There has already been too much
ENGAGEtoday.To view or trade
ENGAGEgo to steem-engine.com.Yip, mah Jessie. It depends what runs the cashless system. In South Afrocuntica (working on it) Allfuckedica? Wallitupanddrowneveryoneica? The banks are far worse than facebook and with FICA they have legal backing to sell all your information, it has taken them years to even think about letting users approve debit orders which is one of the things I told absa long ago to implement.
They trust the businesses more than the person whose money it is. I do not see it can't be converted to a trustless system with standardization. People think that having businesses compete is some kinda solution with how they then undercut each other supposedly and safe you money but in fact I think the entire "compete" is merely a facade to creating a new standard which no one will question why they are even paying for automated systems. Cash in transit? Is this the fucking wild west?
So I who am not using cash have to pay extra because the dumbass bank pretends they are still physically moving that cash. It is all just an extention of the delapitated structural systems we have in place. Heck we may aswell just replace our water systems with good ol fashioned above ground aquaduct, build a coloseum and send All gov to go battle in the coca-cola dome... mmmm where is this going.
Basically, for the cashless it is like this ->
and waiting for trustless and society to undergo the changes required
Oh and that reminds me I actually need a card I have not had one for months and just keep sending money to the ATM :(
Lol well said! I think it’s pretty sad how many people don’t realize this at all and even sadder that no one even thinks about it as a problem they just take the caster oil the government feeds them and continues to shit on themselves
Yes I realize we both sound like loons to the common man, but the common man has no common sense!
Why would I trust any South African company or government insitution with value? All they know is how to give it BMW and squander it
The illegal activity with digital money far outpaces physical cash with out banks being so blind to money laundering it’s as if they are complicit which in many cases they are since they are illiquid with their fractional reserves
I think crypto is the way to go here since it will take them ages to figure out how it works in any case! By the time they catch on we’ll be doing our own thing while they sit with their rands!
What good as all that freedom we worked toward just to give it all away? Just leave me off man, let me do my thing I ain’t hurting nobody
!ENGAGE 100 !COFFEA 1
There has already been too much
ENGAGEtoday.To view or trade
ENGAGEgo to steem-engine.com.I always forget about these tokens and since you are token shaming me , here you go.
!SHADE 5
Thanks Slim Shadey pretty sure someone made that joke already but it’s my first time so fuckit YOJO
Hi chekohler the SHADE tokens are on the way.
Thanks for sharing SHADE
To view or Trade SHADE visit steem-engine.com
I love coins, we didn't have any in Cambodia, but they are used here in Suriname. Something feels a little more real with a coin. It has weight, you know you could melt it down and turn into a bullet or a spoon or something else useful.
We still have coins here too but their pretty much useless very little buying power but I do agree with you they provide a feeling of value that paper could never!
I think it was the natural progression as those metals couldn’t keep up with how the inflation keeps destroying fiat they had to move to paper!
I think that we need some sort of physical way to exchange value which is what crypto give us be it paper wallets, device exchanges with hot wallets or even NFC with cold storage! These options may seem weird now but as more people adopt it, it will start to make much more sense
!ENGAGE 20
There has already been too much
ENGAGEtoday.To view or trade
ENGAGEgo to steem-engine.com.I hate the concept of a cashless state. It screams big brother watching every single penny you spend. Governments, banks, and your credit card companies all having vital data on you which they use as they see fit.
I'm a cash and carry person. Actually got myself a couple credit cards recently just to build up my credit as my score was low because while I never miss a payment on my mortgage the credit companies didn't like that it was the only debt I have. So stupid. But we might want to buy a new house in the next couple years so have to play their game and boost my scores.
So I now have credit cards which won't be used much as I hate putting the added burden of the fees that banks charge the businesses who accept credit or debit cards. I really hope that crypto can change this part of the landscape and remove the crazy fees companies have to pay to transact in the digital world.