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 are incorrect in associating paper with wealth. There is no connection. That dollar bill in your wallet is no more or less money than a digit in a Wells Fargo computer. Both represent a unit of confidence in the issuing body - the US government. That is all they represent. You cannot redeem that dollar bill for a fraction of preciou metal. You cannot redeem the bill for a piece of a brick of a government building. You are not assured of receiving a set unit of a foreign currency for it either. It is a fiat currency. It has no inherent value. The paper bill is simply a physical container for a fractional unit of confidence in the US government, nothing more or less.
Paper money is fungible. It is easily understood and accepted anywhere.
A set of digits in a Wells Fargo bank is subject to what Wells Fargo decides you do or don't have.
Wells Fargo says I have $2000 in their bank. Great.
Whoops, due to a programming error (or something, Wells Fargo won't say), you now have nothing. Whoops.
Sure, dollar bills can be lost or destroyed, but because they represent a relatively small amount of value (unless you walk around with a briefcase full of cash), then your exposure and liability are small.
No, a digit in a bank and cash may be the same in principle, but in fact, they are a lot different. Hope you never find out how different.
I'm sorry, please read any of the established texts that describe the working of our economy and banking system. Maybe its better that you posted as an AC.
Dollar bills can be repudiated at ANY time. The US is on its fourth currency. Anyone holding bills from the previous three hold nothing.
That's nice professor, but here in the real world the chance of the dollar bill you have in your wallet being repudiated at ANY time is about the same as a meter strike hitting your house - even if they do so, there would probably be a period where you could exchange the "repudiated" money for the new, real money.
Furthermore, in terms of real-world use the original responder had a great point. No matter what kind of amazing chip you have in your pocket now or later, you are probably always going to have currency of some sort. It's just easier to deal with sometimes than any kind of smart chip would be, and far more portable in that just about anyone, anywhere will take a dollar bill whereas a smart chip is only going to be usable where there's a reader. For personal transactions it's going to be a long, long, long time before anyone is going to be able to exchange money with any other person on the planet via smart chips. Until that happens we'll have currency as people need to be able to give other people money outside of business transactions.
That's nice professor, but here in the real world the chance of the dollar bill you have in your wallet being repudiated at ANY time is about the same as a meter strike hitting your house - even if they do so, there would probably be a period where you could exchange the "repudiated" money for the new, real money.
You mean like in Argentina, where without warning people were prohibited from accessing cash accounts????? Doesn't anyone read the news anymore???
Governments can default on debts (Russia), disembowel currencies (Thailand), etc with almost no warning! In fact by default these actions are done without warning as a run on the bank would negate the action in the first place.
The reponses I am seeing (including yours) seem to be woefully ignorant of the sorry history of fiat currencies. Thats the way the government(s) like it! They don't want you to know that over three hundred fiat currencies (including some in the US!!!) have been repudiated in recent economic history. If you knew the sorry history of fiat currencies you might horde precious metals (like Warren Buffett, who owns a moutain of silver).
The cash in your pocket has no inherent value! There is no counterargument. Read some history.
What happpens when the soldiers come and take the silver away from you then? Nothing is safe by your argument. Anything of value can be taken, it's up to you to keep in somewhere that the government is stable enough it will not be taken from you.
I'm talking about stable currencies - not just the US, but something like the Euro or the Pound. Can you honestly argue those are going to be repudiated any day now? Or ever, to the point where what you have really has no value?
You live in a world of theory that seems to have no basis in practical reality. What do you do know for currency, trade rare cheeses with others?
Anyone holding bills from the previous three hold nothing. Try telling that to a collector. Even Confederate currency is worth something nowadays. I can't imagine I'd have *any* trouble spending Silver Certificates.
No, I'm sorry. Perhaps _you_ should do a bit of reading! The US Dollar is now a fiat currency. It is no longer backed by gold it is now simply backed by the fiat of the government. This has been the case officially for around 30 years and in reality for about 80.
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."
What is money? (Score:5, Informative)
False. (Score:0)
A set of digits in a Wells Fargo bank is subject to what Wells Fargo decides you do or don't have.
Wells Fargo says I have $2000 in their bank. Great.
Whoops, due to a programming error (or something, Wells Fargo won't say), you now have nothing. Whoops.
Sure, dollar bills can be lost or destroyed, but because they represent a relatively small amount of value (unless you walk around with a briefcase full of cash), then your exposure and liability are small.
No, a digit in a bank and cash may be the same in principle, but in fact, they are a lot different. Hope you never find out how different.
NOT false. (Score:2)
Dollar bills can be repudiated at ANY time. The US is on its fourth currency. Anyone holding bills from the previous three hold nothing.
False again (Score:2)
Furthermore, in terms of real-world use the original responder had a great point. No matter what kind of amazing chip you have in your pocket now or later, you are probably always going to have currency of some sort. It's just easier to deal with sometimes than any kind of smart chip would be, and far more portable in that just about anyone, anywhere will take a dollar bill whereas a smart chip is only going to be usable where there's a reader. For personal transactions it's going to be a long, long, long time before anyone is going to be able to exchange money with any other person on the planet via smart chips. Until that happens we'll have currency as people need to be able to give other people money outside of business transactions.
NOT False, AGAIN (Score:2)
You mean like in Argentina, where without warning people were prohibited from accessing cash accounts????? Doesn't anyone read the news anymore???
Governments can default on debts (Russia), disembowel currencies (Thailand), etc with almost no warning! In fact by default these actions are done without warning as a run on the bank would negate the action in the first place.
The reponses I am seeing (including yours) seem to be woefully ignorant of the sorry history of fiat currencies. Thats the way the government(s) like it! They don't want you to know that over three hundred fiat currencies (including some in the US!!!) have been repudiated in recent economic history. If you knew the sorry history of fiat currencies you might horde precious metals (like Warren Buffett, who owns a moutain of silver).
The cash in your pocket has no inherent value! There is no counterargument. Read some history.
All boils down to government then... (Score:2)
I'm talking about stable currencies - not just the US, but something like the Euro or the Pound. Can you honestly argue those are going to be repudiated any day now? Or ever, to the point where what you have really has no value?
You live in a world of theory that seems to have no basis in practical reality. What do you do know for currency, trade rare cheeses with others?
Re:NOT false. (Score:2)
Try telling that to a collector. Even Confederate currency is worth something nowadays. I can't imagine I'd have *any* trouble spending Silver Certificates.
Re:NOT false. (Score:1)
Duh (Score:1)
Yeah, I think I only mention that about thirty times in different postings.