AdamB wrote:I didn't notice in the first video much about the US, it was based on an EU analysis. And the US has always wanted cash to not be accepted, if only because of tax collection. I'll bet it won't be any easier than taking away their guns.
Except for criminals, large amounts of physical cash are already illegal to use and shunned by most businesses.
Good luck depositing a briefcase full of cash with a legitimate stock broker, for example. (My full service broker just laughed and told a guy who tried to do that, that he couldn't accept that about 35 years ago. I was sitting in his office trading options on an old green screen (before the internet was a big thing), and heard/saw it happen.) With all the worries about terrorism, etc. in the more modern era, all that just got worse. I had to basically sign some stupid thing declaring I wasn't involved in any terrorism to open various bank and brokerage accounts 15ish years ago, re 911 homeland security laws as I recall).
Also, the VAST VAST majority of transactions are already done with digital cash via credit (or debit) cards, or cash transferred electronically through banks via things like ACH (automated clearinghouse), wires, or various bank services to make payments on things like bills, regular payments like rent or mortgages, etc.
Since Covid started I basically have done nothing with any physical cash, and haven't missed it at all. And government can already use credit cards for things like cracking down on tax cheats (I know a guy who does that for his job in my state re businesses, for example). One exception, I do carry around some cash in my wallet (some 20's and 5's) just out of habit, in case credit cards don't work. One day that happened someplace and the clerk was fooling around and apologizing, and I asked if good old fashioned cash would work (advantages of being old school), and he just laughed and said that would be great.
If digital coins are used instead of currency X and the government BACKS it and insures it and ensures the technology is reliable, then for honest people who pay their taxes, I don't see how that's meaningfully different than today's currency and modern electronic banking (including digital payment apps via phone) AS LONG AS there is some good form of backup of the technology goes haywire.
Maybe just as insurance against that, that's enough reason to have gold coins, junk silver coins, etc. Or if you can have some physical cash that will be accepted in the rare event the technology breaks down, that works too.
Governments want to collect taxes due. To the extent technology helps them do that, yeah, they'll like that. As an honest person who doesn't want to be mugged for my physical cash, I've always considered things like credit cards to be a huge plus.
Given the track record of the perma-doomer blogs, I wouldn't bet a fast crash doomer's money on their predictions.
What happens to bank teller employment figures? Armed truck security guards and drivers?
