Where does this Slashdot obsession with a cashless/e-gold/alternative currency come from?
Money has been around for 3200 years [pbs.org]. Trade "I'll give you 2 sheep for one cow" has been around for thousands more.
I remember hearing these "cashless society" arguments in 1980. I look in my wallet 23 years later, and I still have a wad of cash in there, along with a credit card and ATM card. Sure, much of my purchasing is electronic, but it's far from cashless.
Now people are again saying "We'll be a cashless society in 25 years", and I still don't believe them. I've heard it before.
It reminds me of the "computers will solve all your paperwork problems. We will be a paperless society in 25 years." Cash is not going away anytime soon just because some money-geeks think they found an alternative.
As Ivanova from Babylon 5 said: "Every time somebody says we're coming into a paperless society, I get 10 more forms to fill out."
You know it is illegal to 'trade' items in America? You may ONLY use cash or some form on money. You may not give me 2 sheep for 1 cow, legally.
Sure you can. You just need to declare a cash value for each sale.
i.e., if we appraise my cow at $400, and your sheep at $200, we can trade them--and then we'll have to keep track of the $40 sales tax we both owe the gov't, for when we hit the "must pay sales tax" number of transactions.
The ./ obsession with a cashless society? (Score:5, Insightful)
Money has been around for 3200 years [pbs.org]. Trade "I'll give you 2 sheep for one cow" has been around for thousands more.
I remember hearing these "cashless society" arguments in 1980. I look in my wallet 23 years later, and I still have a wad of cash in there, along with a credit card and ATM card. Sure, much of my purchasing is electronic, but it's far from cashless.
Now people are again saying "We'll be a cashless society in 25 years", and I still don't believe them. I've heard it before.
It reminds me of the "computers will solve all your paperwork problems. We will be a paperless society in 25 years." Cash is not going away anytime soon just because some money-geeks think they found an alternative.
As Ivanova from Babylon 5 said:
"Every time somebody says we're coming into a paperless society, I get 10 more forms to fill out."
Re:The ./ obsession with a cashless society? (Score:2)
You know it is illegal to 'trade' items in America? You may ONLY use cash or some form on money. You may not give me 2 sheep for 1 cow, legally.
So if we go cashless, then how do people perform trades without accounts???
I know lots of people without bank accounts.
Re:The ./ obsession with a cashless society? (Score:1)
Sure you can. You just need to declare a cash value for each sale.
i.e., if we appraise my cow at $400, and your sheep at $200, we can trade them--and then we'll have to keep track of the $40 sales tax we both owe the gov't, for when we hit the "must pay sales tax" number of transactions.
Re:The ./ obsession with a cashless society? (Score:1)