The Argument for Cash

Schuler (coin press manufacturer) produced this video explaining why the world needs cash and coins:


Sort of flies in the face of the current conventional wisdom that "cash is so done for."

I happen to agree with their arguments, especially the question of what happens when you don't have electricity/connectivity(?) along with issues of privacy in transactions.

 

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Well, isn't Schuler biased as well? But yes, I agree - cash can (where accepted) be used by pretty much everybody. Credit or debit cards, whether plastic or mobile, are more limited - even though they are convenient of course.

As for the "no electricity" argument, don't think that is a big issue in developed countries. And in case it becomes one (major power outage), cashiers will say they cannot operate or even open the cash registers, so cash may not work either, hehe.

Christian

 

"Cash-less" - I don't see that ever happening. They would have to make sure Everyone has some kind of an account. They can't even make sure everyone has a simple I.D. card.

 

I worked at a fast-food restaurant in the 1980s when once we had a power outtage. We took cash only, and gave change out of the little safe that was kept in the kitchen. Worked just fine, and we kept selling tacos... The bigger issue is your family's security in a war situation where networks and electrical grid could be attacked and down for long periods of time. Of course, nobody thinks of that because it could never happen. No way. Not in a million years...

 

Cash will never ever be eliminated. The only reason/explanation necessary is......

How would all the honest, moral, ethical politicians receive their bribes?

 

There's more layers to this statement if you think about it. At the risk of being chastised I'll say no more.

 

Of course, you understand that such a card would be a godsend to some.

 

Cryptocurrency, of course! Or the ever-popular Amazon gift cards.

Edit: or, as it used to be known, company scrip.

 

Depending on how it were issued, and by whom....It could be a good thing.

 

we have a lot of blackouts around here. The stores have to take cash. They especially want to quickly sell all the frozen/refrigerated foods.

But we've come a long way since the midwest blackout of 2003. So many ppl have gotten NG power backup units, regular gas generators, etc. when there's a black out you hear the chug-chug of generators all night long.

That's where I like solar. I'm running battery power overnight unless I need a recharge at night at which it's a propane generator to recharge the batteries, or gas generator for direct power.

I used to relie upon dry ice, but so many ppl now know about it you have to instantaneously go to the store and get some otherwise it's all gone. The utility companies now use it too for stuff so they buy all of it.

Of course the internet and stuff is usually totally dead after a few hours.
I got out of crypto .. too many hacks.
but cash is still king around here.

 

The worst for us in south central Louisiana—Katrina and Ike notwithstanding—was Andrew in August of 1992. Even the larger cities like Baton Rouge were without power for more than a week. We were fortunate to have enough charcoal to be able to cook up all of the perishables after the the cold in the freezer was gone, but neither cash nor credit cards would do many of us any good since the gas stations had no fuel to sell. Grocery stores were empty too.

 

That's why "prepping" needs to involve lots of non-perishable food and drinkable water first, before cash, PMs, bullets, etc.

My problem? I hate nearly all canned food, and consider it a nutritional disaster. Even if I only kept it for emergencies, I'd need to rotate it out as it approached its date, and that means eating it.

On the other hand, I guess I could get long-shelf-life stuff, and donate it to food pantries as it got within, say, six months of its expiration...

 

twinkies are not canned and they have a long shelf life, maybe longer than the shelf ....

 

At the risk of sounding paranoid, I think that cash offers me the opportunity to purchase items that I just as soon not have either my neighbors, those running the internet or Big Brother know that I buy. It makes no difference that the purchases are legal today. Tomorrow might be a different matter. Cash offers a security that the state cannot easily control or readily deprive me of. If one's assets are easily tied to the grid they can be frozen, confiscated, seized, allocated or simply lost (as US retirees living South of the Border have just discovered). I see cash as giving me the liberty to purchase what I choose and the security to keep it. I expect governments to push for the elimination of cash, on the grounds of "convenience", (for them, maybe) but the actual reason will be something very different.

 

NG: "Natural Gas" power backup? Hmm. Gotta look into that.

 

Twinkies? In light of my comments about "nutritional disasters" above, my attitude toward Twinkies should be obvious.

In reality, they have about zero shelf life on any shelf I can reach. And I'm tall. But let's keep that our little secret...