A Cashless Society Is A Controlled Society

If Everything Must go Through an Online Banking or Credit Card Process, Then You Have Just Lost Virtually all Control Over What You Buy. (Most of world population would have no way to buy food after a cyber attack)

While our government currently has no problem with making fiscally irresponsible decisions, when it finally does come around to deciding that “you know what, pennies aren’t worth it” – or any other form of cash for that matter – there will be nobody that will argue against them. – Aden Tate

The cashless society is almost here and it could lead to chaos and violence. Furthermore, many Americans could soon have no way to pay for necessities like food.

Poor people could have no way to buy food because they have no credit cards or smartphones. To elaborate, Big Retail is planning to get rid of cash registers and cashiers to save money.

In fact, Amazon is already operating 10 Go automated convenience stores that have no cash registers or cashiers. Instead of cash, customers pay with digital wallets such as Apple Pay or Google Pay at Amazon Go.

Big Retail Wants The Cashless Society

Big Retail wants the cashless society because it reduces expenses. For instance, Amazon does not pay cashiers at their Go stores.

In addition, Amazon needs less security at Go because there is no cash for armed robbers to take. Big Retail can also eliminate the expense of counting, storing, and hauling cash. After all, no safe, armored car, or armed guards are necessary when a store refuses to accept cash.

All in all, most of us are already living in a cashless society. For example, Americans used cash for only 30% of their transactions in 2024, The Federal Reserve estimates.

Additionally, people who do not use cash spend more. In particular, the average cash transaction was under $25 while the average credit card transaction was $67 in 2023, The Federal Reserve calculates. As a result, big retailers are readily embracing the cashless society because it increases their income while lowering their expenses.

We Are Not Prepared For The Cashless Society

Even though the cashless society is nearly here, most of us are still not ready for it.

Notably, the British government has no plan to cope with a cashless economy, Quartz reports. However, cash use is falling faster in the United Kingdom than in other countries. Specifically, the level of cash transactions in the UK could fall to 10% within 15 years.

The number of places where Britons can get cash is dwindling fast. Particularly, 70 bank branches are closing each month in the UK. Likewise, banks remove up to 300 ATMs each month in Britain.

How Cyberwarfare Threatens The Cashless Society

Ultimately, Britons could have no way to get cash if cyberwarfare or an electromagnetic pulse destroys electronic payment systems. So, most of Britain’s population would have no way to buy food after a cyber attack.

Notably, U.S. banks are already preparing for an apocalyptic cyber attack. In fact, bank executives fear a cyber attack could wipe out up to 400 million bank accounts. For this reason, a cyber attack may devastate America’s cashless society.

Desperate mobs could roam cities and the countryside looking for food or gasoline. Furthermore, businesses and the government would shut down if employees are unpaid.

Get Ready For The Cashless Society And Chaos

Everybody needs to prepare for the cashless society because it is coming fast. Moreover, events overseas show that you will have no choice but to go cashless.

For example, most banks and many businesses in Sweden no longer even accept cash. In addition, parking lots and vending machines no longer accept cash in Sweden either.

Meanwhile, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) plans to punish businesses that refuse to accept cash payments. A PBOC press release warned merchants that it is illegal not to accept cash.

The PBOC is threatening merchants because of complaints about businesses forcing customers to pay electronically, The South China Morning Post states. In detail, the PBOC is China’s central bank and the equivalent of America’s Federal Reserve.

In the final analysis, a cashless society is almost here and everybody must prepare for it regardless of current circumstances.

The use of plastic currency is very common in today’s world. In fact, stores that don’t accept debit and credit cards are becoming anomalies.

However, a little cash stash should always be included in everyone’s everyday carry supplies. There are many reasons why cash money could become important, ranging from purely convenience to absolute necessity.

When might cash matter? Aside from the idea that practicing a cash-only personal finance is a great way to keep from spending more than you can afford, cash can bail you out of sticky situations.

Off-grid establishments still exist. From a remote country gas station to a rustic hiking hostel to a roadside farm stand, you never know when you might need a little cash money to pay for what you want. Encountering a place which lacks the capability to accept plastic payment is still not that uncommon, particularly in rural areas.

Imagine the serendipity of being out for a drive and happening upon a delightful little mom-and-pop diner with the smells of your favorite food wafting from the kitchen – only to discover that they accept cash only and you have none. Sure, you could make the drive to the nearest ATM, some 10 miles of winding country road each way, but you probably would not.

Sometimes even when establishments do accept plastic, it is nice to have a little cash on hand. Paper money can make splitting the check or paying your share of the tip easier, and it is convenient to have a few dollars in your wallet when all you want is a soda or pack of gum.

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Bad Stuff Happens

Having cash makes it easier to buy direct from individuals. Transactions such as getting a great deal on a vintage bureau on Craigslist or scooping up a baby stroller at a garage sale are easier with cash for everyone involved. You also might want to avail yourself of a chance to get in on a friend’s bulk purchase by buying just one pair out of a dozen gloves or a small bag of artisan flour out of a 50-pound sack. It also would be a shame to pass up a purchase of fresh delectable produce at a stand beside the road, or to miss an opportunity to donate a few dollars to a good cause because you did not have money handy to do so.

Having cash on hand also can be more than just a matter of convenience. Stuff happens. Stuff like forgetting your purse at a friend’s house – or your wallet in your other jacket pocket – and not realizing it until your gas tank is too low to go back for it. And stuff like searching for a store at midnight when you suddenly realize you are completely out of disposable diapers and finding that the only store open has a broken card machine until the repair person arrives the next morning. And even stuff like rushing to a meeting and not having cash for a toll highway or parking area and ending up late because of detour.

And those possible situations are just everyday occurrences. If a minor emergency were to happen, the need for cash could become even more important. In the event of something like a power outage, small stores without generators would be able to serve only cash customers. If the precipitating event continued, generators in larger places could eventually fail, as well.

In the event of a major disaster, cash will be vital, at least for a period of time. In a true catastrophe, it is possible that all representative currency could eventually become valueless. But in the interim, having cash could mean the difference between comfort and suffering, and could possibly contribute to your very survival.

The advice to always keep cash on hand is all well and good, but is not easy to do. Probably the biggest barriers to stashing cash are related to how difficult it is to avoid spending the money as fast as you get it. There is no magic bullet, but everyone can do it.

An Easy Way to Do It

As far as pocket money goes, for those little gotchas like emergency gas and unforeseen parking fees and middle-of-the-night baby necessities, it makes sense to keep the stash in your car. One way to do this is to keep a little covered dish – a recycled pint container such as the ones sour cream or cottage cheese come in – in your car. Tuck it away out of sight so thieves cannot see it. Start out by just dropping your coins into it every time you get change in the drive-through or coins back at a toll booth. Add a few bills here and there as you can spare them, never enough so you miss the money but sufficient to add up over time.

If the container-at-your-fingertips idea works for you, great. If, however, you cannot resist frequently dipping into your money dish, try hiding a little money in areas of your car that are less convenient to access. Most cars have places to stow items so that they are not accessible to the driver. Try tucking some money away in the trunk or under the back seat, and when you are faced with the choice of pulling over and digging out a stashed $10 bill versus dipping into your wallet, you will choose the latter.

Once you know you have a solid emergency stash in the back of the car, keep trying to keep a money container within reach. Eventually, you can make it work.

Building up a supply of money at home for true disasters works on the same principle. Start small and move up, with a $5 in a decorative cookie jar and $20 in an empty toothpaste box in the bathroom cabinet and another few bills tucked between the pages of an old book. Choose hiding spots in places you don’t look in often, and in places where would-be thieves may not find, either.

But where does this money come from to begin with if you are in the habit of using exclusively plastic and electronic transactions? You will need to be proactive about it, especially at first. You can get a little cash back every time you use a card at the grocery store, withdraw money from your account at an ATM, or develop a habit of doing more trading in cash.

There is no disputing the fact that we are quickly becoming a cashless society, and I am not suggesting that we can or should resist that trajectory. But I do maintain that everyone needs to have a little cash, on their person, in the car, or at home – and preferably all three – for convenience and emergencies.

Written by Madge Waggy for the Madge Waggy.Blog ~ August 26, 2024

About admin

Please allow me to introduce myself; I am Jeffrey Bennett, President of Kettle Moraine, Ltd., the parent of Sierra Madre Precious Metals. I have been married for 53 years with two children and four grand-children, a veteran of Viet Nam, student of history (both American and film), and was host for fifteen years of Perspectives on America on the alternative airwaves, covering such subjects as, health and wellness, news, political satire, education and editorial commentary on current events through the teaching of history, and Protecting Your Wealth. In early 2018, I took a several month hiatus to complete some family business but returned to airwaves April 17, 2018). At the age of ten, I sat in a bank-vault in the Citizens Bank of Mukwanago, Wisconsin with my grandfather going through bags of old American Peace dollars, hand-selecting each coin as dated rolls of 20 coins were carefully put together and rolled. Learning of the history of these beautiful pieces of Americana, I asked my grand-father, "Why are we doing this?" to which he replied, "Because someday they are going to do the same thing with the silver in our money that, that (S.O.B.) Roosevelt did with gold in 1933." It took only six-years for his prediction to come to pass at the hands of a disciple of Roosevelt's... and what will a Federal Reserve 'dollar' purchase today - and what will that old 90% Silver Peace Dollar purchase? Although at the age of ten, there was little understanding of the meaning of it all, over the next half-century I became well-versed on the subject matter. During this summer of my education, I began to purchase silver coins as a collector and some small, international gold coins two years later - not an easy feat in the shadow of the Roosevelt confiscatory policies of 1933. Although those policies remained in effect until the mid-1970's, it was not until 1991 that I found that one could make a living providing precious metals and collectible, historic numismatic coins to a willing and concerned clientele. It was also during that year, that I began a relationship with one of the first Trust companies to give the public access to gold and silver as part of an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) - and Kettle Moraine, Ltd., founded in 1995, but have ceased providing service due the the intense change-over of the provider. In November 2011, after a 15 month broadcast on another network, I returned to the airwaves with my then revamped program, Life, Liberty & All That Jazz, and for over 28 years, I have been proud to serve the family of listeners of my numerous broadcast programs for physically-held precious metals for investors and collectors alike. On March 23, 2020 I launched my brand new - appropriately named program, The Edge of Darkness on the Republic Broadcasting Network, and thus continue to  remain available to our long time clients and their families. Ah yes - find out what "inter-generational" wealth provision has done for our clients over the past three decades. Don't buy the sizzle of that steak until you understand the cost! In other words, don't buy the bull being dispensed by the 'rare coin' pitchmen until you understand the full story. We, at Sierra Madre Precious Metals, will be proud to serve your needs.
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