I wonder if cash will become the rotary phone of 2023. Think of all the money the government could save if they stopped printing money.

cough<

@Archimage Interesting concept. There are parts of the world in which cash is not used at all, and they seem to be doing fine with that. Canada dropped the penny, saving countless hours of penny-ante grief at the register, though that's a different matter.

But your post begs the question: What is money?

@rogerscrafford @archimage We have ditched everything below 1 krone, and it’s been a blessing. However, getting rid of money altogether will be a difficult task, because although the vast majority use debit cards, (or credit-), there are many people that m aren’t eligible for a debit card, and that are under a legal guardian, because of their inability to handle “larger” sums of money. They live practically hand to mouth, and they have cards, which they can withdraw “today’s money” off, and use for daily purchases, while their rent and other bills are paid by the welfare state. If we could solve this, then money laundering and other illegal activities would be harder to do though.

@rogerscrafford It’s interesting that Japan is mostly a cash-based society despite it’s vaunted tech. Money is a form of keeping track of the value of an exchange.

@odd Yes. As I mentioned there are still cash-based societies. Such as Japan.

@Archimage When we go grocery shopping (upstate NY, USA), there's often someone paying with cash, out of a bill-stuffed envelope. Sometimes they'll pay for a cart full of groceries with one or two $100 bills. Usually they don't look very well-off. It has to be a deliberate choice -- I think almost anyone can get a credit or bank card these days.

@JMaxB @archimage When I opened a new bank account recently, I had to fill out a multi-page online form and submit to a credit check, and this was at a bank where I already have several accounts. Yes, anyone can theoretically get a debit card, but practically, it is out of reach for a bunch of folks who don’t have a permanent address, who have spotty credit histories, etc.

@petebrown Thanks for the reminder. I've heard what seems to me like a great recommendation: Let everyone have a savings account and a small line of credit ($1000?) accessible at the Post Office, tied to their SSN. Throw in a debit card and we'd make basic money-handling services almost universally available. Possibly the PO could even implement it without clearance from congress, which will never agree on anything helpful.

@odd The fallout from the "digital divide" takes many forms, and you have listed some of them. I think I do my own money "laundering" when I take money in with one hand and passing it on with the other. In that brief moment, I am wealthy!

@JMaxB I've known some folks who will not do electronic banking because Big Brother is watching.