Is Cash a Thing of the Past?

[dmp]

Cashless Society Fears, discussion..

GO!

 

[5stringJeff]

There'll always be bartering, even if cash is outlawed.

 

[KarlMarx]

My short answer is "yes, there will be a cashless society" and to top it off, I'm willing to say within most of our lifetimes.

Now why do I say that?

1. Security - have you noticed how often American money has changed in the last few years? That is because counterfeiting of money, especially large bills has become much easier because of the advent of digital imaging technology. It is also much easier for law enforcement to track money trails when its all electronic. After the advent of 9/11 this aspect is probably the most convincing argument for a cashless society.

2. Cost - using "hard" currency (i.e. paper money, checks, and coins), is more expensive than using electronic money. Hard currency must be stored, sorted, counted, transported, guarded and so forth. Electronic currency doesn't need to be, it is simply numbers in a database. When you purchase items at say, Home Depot, for twenty dollars, that amount is subtracted from your account and added to Home Depot's. Plus it takes only a few seconds, at most, for the transaction to take place. Since transactions are less costly, the cost of business is kept down, the flow of money is more efficient etc.

3. The Internet/Technology - the Internet has changed a lot in our society, especially the way we buy things. Credit Cards are ubiquitous and indispensable for online purchases. In addition, computers are running our economic transactions, they not only perform the transactions for us, they authentic them, balance the books, make the transfer of money and all within a few seconds. Not to mention that the global economy is causing society to move towards a cashless society. It is now commonplace to make purchases of goods from other countries directly because of the Internet.

4. Global currency - Europe already has the Euro, we have seen NAFTA and CAFTA become realities. With these, comes the merging of national economies, eventually, a common currency will follow. Electronic money will suit the purposes of those proponents of a common worldwide economy and of a common worldwide government (yes, many are advocating that as well)

Eventually, it is possible that people will have chips implanted in them. They will then carry their wallets with them, so to speak, as well as their identification, medical records and so forth (more likely, the chips will simply act as "keys" to get to the information stored on remote servers. With the advent of "Wi-Fi" technology (i.e. wireless technology), implantable chips may soon be common place. In fact some companies are already using implantable chips for animals e.g. cats, dogs and livestock. The technology for implanting chips in humans is already here, today!

Yes, I know what some of you are thinking, the Mark of the Beast. I'm afraid it is coming and sooner than most of us are willing to admit.

The downside of all of this is the danger that it imposes on our freedoms. All our purchases and spending habits will then be able to be scrutinized by marketing companies, nosy government bureaucrats and dictators. Eventually, it is possible that these implanted chips will serve as a global identity card and you will not be able to do anything without them. Buying, selling, marrying, entry into work, driving a car, even signing your name can all become dependent on these chips. And with that, will come the common link to everything for a megalomania-cal dictator to take over the entire world and keep track of the movement of his or her political enemies (all in the name of national security, mind you!)