thoughts on a paperless and coinless money society?

i was watching a show on one of the discovery channels recently about the US mint. at least i think it was, i caught the tail-end of it. the part i did see was about how some companies are using electronic means of payment, via plastic cards, how debit cards are so popular now, and how we can start using our fingerprints to pay for things. some of you may even own these cards i'm talking about. american express has some kind of plastic piece that fits on your keychain that you swing in front of a laser at the register. exxon (i believe) has a similar bar-code type card you use at the pump - not a credit card though. it has all your information encoded.

some person they found on the street to give an opinion made the statement that it wouldn't surprise her if society is done with coins and paper money within the next 5 years.

what are your thoughts on that? will paper money and coins soon lose their value and become collectibles? that particular question led to another question:

how will drugs be pushed and sold to users??? will this be another way the government can keep track of us? will this be the final blow to win the "war on drugs"?

such questions of a stoner with no one to chat with!

i think it could be done if done correctly. The problem is.. you're forcing people to place their money within an institution which will probably charge them fees and shit, and i don't agree with that, especially when concerning the poor.

people are already charged fees and shit to house their money

I think part of the goal towards a One World Order (which i believe we're headed towards quickly) will be to phase out the use of currency. They are already making it harder for you to use cash in some places and it is virtually impossible to live without a bank account now. I know i just survived a month without a bank after we moved.

During the month without a bank the only way we could cash a check was from the bank it was drawn from unless we wanted to pay a huge checkcashing fee. After going to the bank to cash a check where it was drawn from we had to stand in a seperate line (for non account customers where we were seen after the 'other' line) as well as pay up to a $2 charge for not being a customer. ID as well as a fingerprint were required to cash the check. They make it so where you want to open up an account somewhere because they make it so inconvenient for you if not.

Second, some of my bills (my AT&T and credit card that i've noticed) charge a fee if i mail in the payment. If i pay online or use autodraft then it is free). Some gas stations (Mobil i believe is one) also have a cheaper price if you use your credit card.

Eventually insisting that all billls be paid via computer or draft from a card will be next. Payckecks will probably be deposited right onto the card.

It certainly is in their advantage if they could get everything down to a debit card because then it will wipe out the blackmarket as we know it. I think that's their point.

TiberCross said:

people are already charged fees and shit to house their money

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yes but you have that choice.. YOu could cash every pay check you had and keep it under your matress if you wanted.

There's advantages to hand held cash that electronic credits could never replace. It would be hard on small business who don't accept check or credit, it put a hurting on yard/garage sales, and it would allow monitoring of every dollar you spend by an institution.

You cannot force people to place their money in a bank, and if the government set up one..to replace cash, it'd just be a scary thought, especially with people like Ashcroft running around this country.. and the couple millions people who share his fucking attitude.

On the upside though, we wouldn't have 20 trillion pieces of paper floating around promoting christian propoganda with "in god we lust" or some such shit..

^^ you always make me laugh.


i never thought about garage/yard sales. you're right though. it just seems really scary that that's how we are probably heading.






i just want to be able to get my drugs! dealers are sketch about giving them checks as payment. (no surprise) they damn sure won't have a credit card machine set up in the house or the government's got 'em.

it may not be long before a bank account tracked by a government entity is required to buy and sell goods.

barter will still be viable (trade work for food - etc).

if a government stops making paper money and coin - what is the option of the governed?

It would make buying drugs pretty damned hard.

I'm opposed to the idea, simply because it allows the powers-that-be more scope in controlling people's lives. I sure as shit don't want my every transaction monitored by the state.

barter will still be viable (trade work for food - etc).

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AFAIK bartering is illegal, it is considered a form of tax evasion...

^ difficult to enforce.

they could say we have to go to "the card" as a way to defeat and control terroism.
and remember, if you use and buy drugs you are a terriost. 8)

i would be opposed to it...cash does seem quite analog, but there is a certain amount of anonymity and convenience to coins and bills that i think we ought not give up.

what would be the system of currency exchange if one country gave up paper cash but others did not?

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I'm pretty sure the currency could still be traded in the markets but it just wouldn't exist physically. For example, if Australia gave up paper money and the rest of the world didn't, people in Australia would still buy their goods in Australian Dollars, and I suppose an Australian travelling overseas could have any Australian Dollars they had saved in an electronic account changed into whatever paper currency they chose depending on where they travelled.

^^ as beanergrl stated, we are heading towards a "one world order", where everything is universal. and i'm completely opposed to the idea, but you do have to admit that carrying around a pocket full of change is bulky as hell.

and if we did have to start using our fingerprints, for example, that would definitely reduce the amount of theft - credit cards and huge wads of cash being stolen by muggers and whatnot.

but i just don't want that much control exerted over me.




edit: meant for kewl

(edited- meant for kewl too, everyone posted before me)

well, imo, we would be about under one world order by that point anyways. therefore it wouldn't matter.
it began with the EU and the Euro. in the future the US as well as other countires will be in a posistion where we will have to join it to. after that plastic cards for all! or maybe a microchip in the hand. ha ?

disclaimer- i am just speculating and havent given much thought about this so i could be just talking out my ass about how it will go down. however, i certainly think that somehow, someway, we will make it to that point.

but i just don't want that much control exerted over me.

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Well said.

i don't either.

would it be a matter of a vote for a government to stop using paper money - or is it something a government could do in the abscence of a vote (assumed: democratic society).

was there any vote when money stopped being gold backed or silver backed in the US?


i dont think anyone would *want* a government to take anonimity out of currency.

goatyoghurt - there is only so much physical currency in circulation at any given time. how would virtual currency be traded for the physical currency between governments?

seems like a conpletely paperless economy would require a one world government.

kewl said:

i dont think anyone would *want* a government to take anonimity out of currency.

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No one would actually *want* paper / coin money to be removed. I don't think they will enforce such a change any time soon but just try and phase it out as much as possible... as they are doing now anyway (directly or not).

Money will be here for some time it will just be used alot less, and more questions will be asked if you are carrying around large sums of it.