Has anyone noticed the progression to a 'cashless' economy?
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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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Interesting how this discussion has so far focussed much at Paypal.
Has anybody thought about these points:
Basic right for an accepted currency
Currently cash plays the role of an (almost) universal currency, at least within a monetary union and for medium prices. If leave your home with enough value of cash in your pocket, you can feel relaxed that you can buy everything without the risk of being unable to pay (having enough amount but of incompatible type). Every member of a society can take part in using that common denominator currency (just by getting cash in exchange, or finding it on the street). No registration or identification or income statements necessary.Neutrality
Other ways of payment often have a third party in the middle, which requires additional trust, agreement between payment services, and compatibility of their proprietary payment systems/pay cards/APIs. As long as systems aim for competition and exclusion (diverse credit card systems, Google/Apple Pay, Paypal which is not under banking law!), they are good as option but not suited as common denominator. Once cash will not be universally accepted anymore, it needs a successor, which ideally would be neutral and unbiased without giving advantage or control to specific companies over others.Data minimization
I have bought ice cream, the ice cream seller got his money and I got my ice cream, but nothing else was exchanged and we didn't know each other and will never know. I even have stayed in hotels anonymously. Not that data minimization or anonymity is crucial (as it would be for presecuted people like E. Snowden), but it guarantees that a moment of life has fulfilled all what it was supposed to (satiation) and that everything else can get forgotten, without future consequences (like some big company logging somewhere forever that you have eaten ice cream). -
The main problem is that each nation has its own banks and they have their own shareholders which creates and interest in manipulating whatever cash was replaced by to their own advantage.
As long as banks are independent of government this will happen and ruin ANY potential financial evolution, they are and will remain, set up to create a mostly unhealthy level of profit for their own ends.
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America's Banks are not independent. Federally founded, chartered, backed and insured not to mention regulated by. Government is very, very involved.
Also, I've noticed no one here has mentioned the prevalence of the American Dollar in the world market and how it can be used in many markets without conversion. In some places it's even preferred to the local currency.
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@krisidious said:
Also, I've noticed no one here has mentioned the prevalence of the American Dollar in the world market and how it can be used in many markets without conversion. In some places it's even preferred to the local currency.
The $US is the global reserve currency backed, some say, by ten aircraft carriers and soon to be twelve. Although officially its the tie to oil prices that maintains its position. The BRICS would appear to be working on an alternative but I don't see this happening anytime soon. Then again the World seems to be looking for financial stability and there are even suggesting from many quarters for a return to some sort of a Gold Standard. China, Russia and India have been accumulating an awful lot of gold over the past few years so one never knows!
I read this morning that Texas is in the process of setting up its own Gold Depository. That should cause some twitching in Washington and New York. Do the Texans know something that we don't?
A gold rush in Texas? Texas Bullion Depository could become reality
http://www.khou.com/story/news/local/texas/2015/05/31/a-gold-rush-in-texas-texas-bullion-depository-could-become-reality/28256929/ -
@krisidious said:
Also, I've noticed no one here has mentioned the prevalence of the American Dollar in the world market and how it can be used in many markets without conversion. In some places it's even preferred to the local currency.
I thought I mentioned it - "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?".And I think it is not so far in the future. The only problem will be the consequences of $ fall...But that's where cashless economy come in as a replacement...I wonder does Chine and Russia has their own cashless network. What do you think?
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I know the Arabic and or Islamic are said to have a community based banking system that doesn't use interest. You need money and say you're in America, but your money is in Arabia. Local friendly Islamic, I would suppose found through local mosques would loan you money and then be repaid later. I read a little about it during some War on Terror reading and how it was hard to track the terrorists because of this under ground money system. But I don't know much about it.
As we've said before, people will always trade for service and valuables. They will place value on something and two parties will agree and it will have that value.
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