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Saturday, February 27, 2016

A change to take our breath away!



The United States of America is currently dealing with a real crisis of currency in that in spite of the printing presses running 24/7 they are not able to print enough dollar bills to cover their needs, and they never will.

It therefore appears that serious consideration is being given to scrapping the system of using cash altogether. In other words the United States would become the first country in the world to be cash-less.

Whether this prospect is true or not I simply wanted to think about whether it would be possible or practicable; and what would change for the better or the worse. I am not saying that it will happen, I leave that to others who make a study of such things. It has been suggested that something serious might cause a major disruption on March 15th of this year, but we will just have to wait and see.

Apparently the majority of economic transactions that take place are done so digitally. Perhaps as much as 93 to 95%. Over the past week I have closely monitored my spending and I have only had to spend a maximum of ten euros in cash on one day for the lottery because I am not allowd to use cards to gamble. Otherwise, I routinely spend only between 20 cents for parking to less than ten euros in shops that operate cash only businesses. In my case, I'm 99% there.

In a cash-less society I think the first thing that will go is corruption. Guilty politicians will no longer be able to look forward to little brown envelopes. Any efforts at bribery by other means can be tracked because someone will have to make a purchase or a sale.

The black market business of dealing in drugs is cash driven. How would drug addicts get their fix if they cannot use cash? Would that drive drug cartels out of business, and would the gangs that are so brutal and murderous have any other reasons to stay together?

The people trafficking business that is so callous about human life would hopefully cease to exist. Those people are monsters and do not deserve to carry on their activities, but they are a cancer on society. Very concerned people would like to see the end of what they do, often sending people off to their certain death because they have been paid, but they are like cockroaches, they are seemingly endless in their numbers.

The end of that group would also have a positive impact on the business of prostitution, but the actual trade of sex for money could continue as even today services can be paid for by card. If a woman chooses of her own free will to sell her body and pocket the reward, I don't have a problem with that. However, when others attach themselves to her against her will than I do have concerns.

In order for a cash-less society to work, absolutely everyone in the world would need a card and a bank account with a positive balance and an income. There is that end of society that live on handouts from passersby, so if I don't have some change in my pocket to give, the person who has been able to rely on me will be in hard luck.

There are many businesses that are traditionally cash based because they are small enterprises, and high volume. I suppose that some accommodation would have to be made to keep their businesses functioning as they are necessary to our way of life.

The positive changes, other than cleaning up our society would be to the financial system whereby all transactions would happen by the stroke of a computer keynote. In the world of very high finance that would spell relief.

For the rest of us, I'm not so sure yet.

Copyright (c) 2016
Eugene Carmichael