Has anyone noticed the progression to a 'cashless' economy?
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I don't mind having authority over my accounting and customer service... But as most of us know, architecture clients are almost always in the wrong. We do tons of extra work and they can barely bring themselves to pay and then think they own the work. I just want a fair shake in the process and not just oh since the credit card company is going to protect their user, we're going to just allow them to steal thousands of dollars from you. With a digital product it makes it quite painful. My only recourse is to wait for them to build, hope I have their location correct and then try to put a mechanic's lien on the property and hope they sell one day... Before I die.
Anytime I can, I direct my clients to make hand deposits at my bank or to do direct wire transfers of funds. Then there is no bouncing check, no waiting for the postman, no canceled check, no paypal transaction fees, no chargebacks, no dispute resolution except what I am willing to concede to. I begrudgingly use paypal because I have to in order to sell plans on my website. Thankfully most people want it custom.
I've also noticed that people needing architecture work often don't have the free capital to spend on planning. they seem broke. They want systems like Paypal so they can put planning on their credit card and finance it. Wells Fargo at one time had a deal where they rolled planning costs into the construction loan and paid the architect or designer up front. That system is long dead though.
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After many years of monopoly $$$$$$ printing machines are out of business. The end of $$$$. Euro-Asia central bank is taking control with its own currencies. So, let's make even more convenient system, where besides it has no real value, we do not have to print money at all. Just type it in the system. Who will have the control?
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This will only be of interest to non US citizens currently.
I came across BitGold today and am intrigued with what I see so far. In essence its a way to buy gold for a 1% levy, have it stored / insured for free, fully own it at all times, send and receive gold value payments and even have solid gold (10g Cubes or 1Kg bars) delivered to your door for a small cost. BitGold advise they they are launching a BitGold debit card (MasterCard) that will facilitate ATM cash withdrawals and other card payments.Here is a link, https://bitgold.com/r/mWPVjY to get some free gold, 0.25g worth €8.61 currently ....... next year it could be worth a lot more if the financial system goes belly up
Mike
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Why only Non-Us? Fox watchers love gold... they're always talking about the system going down and gold being it.
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Gold wont give you peace of mind, read: http://nok-ind.tumblr.com/post/2100405115/mansa-musa-one-of-the-richest-men-who-ever-lived
You can not own, nor put in a bank or safe, the most valuable things in life. -
@unknownuser said:
a self-selecting few who will influence that value much more than the rest of us.
Some of us simple folk have just departed into the forest to avoid banks. The picture is of my wood silo. I have two that hold approx. 8 bush cords each, that's about 7000$. I keep them full.
The silo is my pay pal when it comes to purchasing many things from the community. Eggs, milk, bread/wheat, maple syrup, feed for animals, crafts, furniture, tractors...
If you are looking for freedom then this is its real currency. I have watched free-enterprise kill democracy and freedom in the last 50 years. It is surprising how many others have just moved away from it as well. I recommend it to everyone. Once you get a taste of freedom again (very few in the free world have it any more) You will never look back.
PayPal is the antithesis of the freedom and privacy I enjoy.
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Mike, the move to a more digital currency (which started decades ago in the US with the advent of debit cards) will not eliminate crime, only transform it. As evidenced by the rise in cyber crimes, such as identity theft. Nowadays, a thief no longer has to have physical access to your money to rob you blind.
Back in '89 I worked briefly in a bank as a coin wrapper, housed in the bank's vault. Even back then there was surprisingly little money in the vault, since most transactions by then were done electronically. That is why the U.S. Treasury stopped printing large denominations.
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Look in the headlines. These too big to fail banks have finally been given criminal convictions but will continue to prey on people, just cuz. Paypal has been found guilty of signing people into a credit scheme without their knowledge. I'm currently trying to get some relatively small fees back from a "no fee" credit card (never used) (from my local banker) that, surprise, charges $50 a year for "rewards program" I never knew about.
Anyway. No, I have not noticed a change to cashless for many years in my daily life. Just more predatory banks. I use debit cards just about the same I did years ago.
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@krisidious said:
Why only Non-Us? Fox watchers love gold... they're always talking about the system going down and gold being it.
Kris, It must be bloody annoying when you come up against this kind of thing particularly when in Canadian company of what appears to be good and solid standing.
I don't know why the US is excluded, probably because of some financial restrictions when it comes to purchase of gold or trading in a gold account. Could it date back to the Nixon days? I'll see if I can find out more.
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Thanks Mike... That's Awesome Roland...
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While I'm at it, here is another currency found in the bush. You might be able to guess. Quite an elaborate piece of architecture. Model that one for me.
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Some things cannot be drawn, they must be made, for if you draw them first something is lost... This is one of those things. It's gorgeous.
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@unknownuser said:
It's gorgeous.
Can you quess? -
@roland joseph said:
Can you quess?
Are you talking about a sugar bush? -
I was going to say still or rendering station. But I think Andy has it, since it's up north... But it's so cold, how does syrup run in the winter?
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Depending on how far north that picture could be May! haha
reminds me of the occasional structures we used in Hawaii. If it leans "kapakai" add another brace!
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Yes Andybot it is my Sugar Shack with shack being the key word.
@unknownuser said:
[/But it's so cold,quote]
Was it ever. Our season was weird. It started 3 weeks early, ran long enough for me to collect a batch (2days) but then it snowed and dropped to 25 below 0. The image is of me cooking the batch that day in the snow at about 25 below. Also that is an HDRI, the sun had not even come up yet. That is just the moon shining.
@unknownuser said:
If it leans "kapakai" add another brace!
Exactly! -
I am another who despises pray pal, I WILL NOT use them preferring to go without whatever it is for sale.
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I got caught up in one of their security failures and got nothing back, not even an apology.
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Prey pal are doing a 'microsoft' closing out competition by low fee's for small businesses but grabbing that back by only processing a card four times before 'insisting' the buyer get an account by refusing further transactions. This is anti competitive as other banks will continue to process from credit and debit cards without the buyer being coerced into opening an account.
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Prey pal pay lip service to security yet they still have staff smuggling account details, including access and security codes which are then sold on the dark net, they are building a large amount of problems for their clients that will not get better soon.
I know this sounds very conspiracy theorist and shiny hat alert alike but if you get caught once it makes a lot of sense to not get caught a second time.
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@mike amos said:
I am another who despises pray pal, I WILL NOT use them preferring to go without whatever it is for sale.
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I got caught up in one of their security failures and got nothing back, not even an apology.
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Prey pal are doing a 'microsoft' closing out competition by low fee's for small businesses but grabbing that back by only processing a card four times before 'insisting' the buyer get an account by refusing further transactions. This is anti competitive as other banks will continue to process from credit and debit cards without the buyer being coerced into opening an account.
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Prey pal pay lip service to security yet they still have staff smuggling account details, including access and security codes which are then sold on the dark net, they are building a large amount of problems for their clients that will not get better soon.
I know this sounds very conspiracy theorist and shiny hat alert alike but if you get caught once it makes a lot of sense to not get caught a second time.
were you using the service for receiving payments as well as making purchases?
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Bank of America charges people who do not have an account to cash a check... Even if the check is written to them. They also make them go inside the bank and do not allow them to use the drive through. Last time I was in they made me cut the line in front of non-account holders. It's getting crazy.
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