Post: #1

It will probably come as no surprise to readers to learn that Sweden, that paradise on earth, is leading the way into another Elysium of social “freedom” and “equality.” You might even mockingly call it “financial social justice.” A recent New York Times article discusses Sweden’s push to get rid of cash entirely. It paints a disturbing picture.

Despite the fact that the number of electronic fraud cases in the country reached 140,000 (more than double the number from ten years ago, according to the Ministry of Justice), officials are determined to force the population to use plastic, credit, or electronic means to pay for goods and services. Some banks, apparently, don’t even dispense or accept cash.

The threat, of course, lies in the fact that now every single financial transaction will leave a record, and will be monitored. If something is being recorded, then by definition it is being monitored, despite attempts by the authorities to massage away this distinction. It is simply a matter of degree. And as always, such an “innovation” is being wrapped in peals of praise about how much it is going to “help” everyone.

Why This Is Not Good

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Besides the privacy problem, which alone should be sufficient reason not to implement the plan, there are other compelling reasons “going cashless” is not a good idea:

1. It will marginalize elderly people and poor people who are used to paying for things in cash, and are deeply suspicious (with good reason) of electronic payment systems.

2. It will encourage people to spend frivolously, since paying for things on one’s smart phone is fast and easy. This will likely contribute to debt problems, gambling problems, and all sorts of irresponsible behavior. A student interviewed at the University of Gothenberg admitted that if she had a 500 krona note, she would think twice about spending it; electronic payment brought little to no psychological hesitation.

3. Holding physical currency (paper money or coin) doesn’t really cost the holder anything besides inflation. But digital currency in banks can get eroded very, very easily with fees, charges, and all the other games that banks like to play.

4. Are banks really willing and capable of handing all the millions and millions of tiny transactions that would happen every day? From my fifteen years’ of experience with dealing with banks, I’ve learned that the average bank dork can’t even organize a roll of toilet paper. It’s difficult to see how the average bank is going to be competent enough to handle all these transactions efficiently. They are going to charge everyone though the teeth for their learning curve. Just you wait.

5. Digital currency would be vulnerable to disruption by fraud or terrorist attacks.

6. Moving to digital currency might even speed up the demise of the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency. There are huge amounts of dollars in circulation abroad. It is possible that holders of dollars abroad would sell them quickly, as a reaction to the uncertain future of the electronic world.

Not surprisingly, the government and big business are working hand in hand to see that this dream becomes a reality. What is the real reason it is being pushed? It all comes down to power, control, and profits: that is, the government wants more power, and big business wants to make more money.

Government And Big Finance Loves It

By turning everything into a digital transaction, the banks are guaranteed the ability to make huge amounts of money on fees. They will be taking a cut on everything that moves in and out of their hands, which means every single thing. Leif Trogen, an official at the Swedish Bankers’ Association, has basically admitted as much.

Of course, the plan is being lauded by claiming that not having cash around helps to “protect” people from random robberies. But now the entire population is going to get robbed by the banks and the government.

Apparently, cash now represents only about 2 percent of Sweden’s financial transactions. In the United States, this figure is supposedly 7.7 percent, and in the Eurozone, 10 percent (I find these figures hard to believe).

Regardless, the government has given the plan its tacit approval by doing nothing to stop it. As noted above, electronic payments leave a crystal-clear record, and this assists in population control and tax collection.

People are also now going to be bombarded with intrusive solicitations for money for all sorts of things. Picking electronic pockets is even easier than picking regular ones. This whole idea of “safety” is a lie promoted by the government to justify its policies.

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One disturbing story tells us all we need to know. During one recent church service at the Filadelfia Stockholm church, the church’s bank account number was projected onto a large screen, and parishoners were asked to take out their smartphones and donate. Anyone not complying would attract attention. Churches are noticing that donations have increased dramatically as a result of these new types of collection tactics.

The last thing Sweden needs is more conformist pressure.

A lot of this talk reminds thoughtful observers of the days when governments told us how great it would be for everyone if we de-coupled our currencies from the gold standard. Paradise, we were assured, was just around the corner. Governments would be able to print more money. More liquidity would mean more prosperity. All sorts of spending could take place without any financial discipline.

And yet people today work harder and harder for less and less. Maybe what they really should have said was that getting off the gold standard would be good for the elites and for governments, but not for the citizens. I am not necessarily saying that we should go back to the gold standard, but there should at least be some way of imbuing a currency (even a fiat one) with confidence.

It is difficult to feel confident about a glowing number on a computer screen that you can’t see or touch.

Currencies Need One Of Two Things

But perhaps the best analysis here is to look at history. As I see it, any form of currency must have one of two things to succeed:

1. People must believe in it, and have faith in its integrity. This is the basis of all paper money (i.e., fiat currencies) issued by governments today. Whether such faith in governments is justified is a separate question.

2. The currency must have some intrinsic value itself (i.e., gold, silver, copper, etc.). This is the old-fashioned type of money. In the old days (at least in theory), all money was backed by some precious metal.

When we look at digital currency, we could argue that it possesses neither of these requirements. At least paper money could be held in the hand or in the pocket. Digital currency is about as ethereal as one can get. It is difficult to see this as more “trustworthy” than paper money. And it goes without saying that digital currency will not be backed by precious metals.

When all is said and done, it is difficult to see this as yet another scheme by governments and banks to control us, monitor us, and make us pay for the privilege.

Read More: This Accidental Experiment Shows The Superiority Of Patriarchy

Posted on Mon, 28 Dec 2015 21:00:00 +0000 at http://www.returnofkings.com/76324/why-a...-bad-thing
Comments: http://www.returnofkings.com/76324/why-a...ng#respond

Post: #2

This may be a scheme dreamed up by soulless Statists and Globalists to finance the invaders coming in to the country.
Sweden's lunatic left politicians will introduce extra levies and charges on people to use this new digital currency and brainwash the Swedes into thinking it's "better".

Post: #3

I wonder if this would see a massive rise of alternative currencies like bitcoin. I don't know enough about bitcoin to guess.

It's a shame because it would make general community and village type transactions much more difficult (maybe that's their idea).
Think school gala/fair, honesty box on the side of the road selling fruit, your kids setting up a lemonade stand in front of your house, garage sale etc.

Post: #4

Why is digital currency any worse than paper currency?

What gives a dollar bill its value? What makes a $100 bill worth 100 bucks? Why is a 100 dollar bill worth 100x the value of a 1 dollar bill? They're made with the same cloth and ink. One bill says 100 and the other says 1. What is the difference? Neither is backed with precious metals anymore, so what gives them value? Because the government says so?

It would seem that digital currency is make believe. How can you have anything of value from mere pixels on a screen? Yet why is a green piece of paper worth anything either?

Post: #5

(12-29-2015 09:52 PM)BrewDog Wrote:  Why is digital currency any worse than paper currency?

What gives a dollar bill its value? What makes a $100 bill worth 100 bucks? Why is a 100 dollar bill worth 100x the value of a 1 dollar bill? They're made with the same cloth and ink. One bill says 100 and the other says 1. What is the difference? Neither is backed with precious metals anymore, so what gives them value? Because the government says so?

It would seem that digital currency is make believe. How can you have anything of value from mere pixels on a screen? Yet why is a green piece of paper worth anything either?

Money is simply a fungible way of transferring value between individuals.

If you're the best perfume maker in the land and you need firewood, but the lumberjack doesn't want perfume, you sell perfume to a housewife for cash, which the lumberjack wants because he can buy eggs with cash since the farmer doesn't want perfume either.

The problem with a cashless society is not "what even is money", rather that in a cashless society someone controls transactions. There are plenty of videos online describing the nature of money.

Someone that controls your transactions can flippantly decide how much they will take from you in tax, what you can and can't purchase and generally make dealings between the candlestick maker and the hair dresser more difficult. It favours huge corporations over small businesses.

Post: #6

(12-30-2015 12:48 AM)Sooth Wrote:  

(12-29-2015 09:52 PM)BrewDog Wrote:  Why is digital currency any worse than paper currency?

What gives a dollar bill its value? What makes a $100 bill worth 100 bucks? Why is a 100 dollar bill worth 100x the value of a 1 dollar bill? They're made with the same cloth and ink. One bill says 100 and the other says 1. What is the difference? Neither is backed with precious metals anymore, so what gives them value? Because the government says so?

It would seem that digital currency is make believe. How can you have anything of value from mere pixels on a screen? Yet why is a green piece of paper worth anything either?

Money is simply a fungible way of transferring value between individuals.

If you're the best perfume maker in the land and you need firewood, but the lumberjack doesn't want perfume, you sell perfume to a housewife for cash, which the lumberjack wants because he can buy eggs with cash since the farmer doesn't want perfume either.

The problem with a cashless society is not "what even is money", rather that in a cashless society someone controls transactions. There are plenty of videos online describing the nature of money.

Someone that controls your transactions can flippantly decide how much they will take from you in tax, what you can and can't purchase and generally make dealings between the candlestick maker and the hair dresser more difficult. It favours huge corporations over small businesses.

Yeah, I think the article should take away its focus from "marginalizing the elderly" or something and say it loud and clear:

"cashless society" is just another scheme for the big men to control the rest of us.

No other motivation behind that. No other reason to object it than that.

Post: #7

Martin Armstrong is currently writing some fascinating posts about this topic.
Sanders in the US wants to eliminate the 100$ bill, and to recall those in circulation.
This will only continue as the US and EU look for every possibility of taxing the bejaysus out of law abiding citizens so as to pay for increasing mass migration into Europe of lawbreaking economic migrants, who flout our borders and pose as refugees with fake Syrian passports.
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/world...ian-state/

Post: #8

Cash or other forms of money, are essentially private transactions. There is no way the government could tax craigslist transactions for example, even though people are theoretically supposed to pay sales tax and income tax. The government has no authority to eliminate cash, and they arguably have no authority to issue a currency that is not backed by precious metals. The temptation for governments to print money is too great, and the value of the dollar has fallen off a cliff since the establishment of the 2nd Federal Reserve bank in 1913. Their goal is "price stability" by the way, but prices have hardly been stable. I would advise everyone to read up on the history of this, you will find that gold was first confiscated and then the dollar was devalued by the Roosevelt administration.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_6102



Edit: Found another one:



The rise in the price of gold(and everything else) reflects the printing of money. More dollars are chasing around goods, therefore the price is bid up.

Post: #9

CBS new is turning on the propaganda machine to prepare people in the US for a "cashless" society.

This type of fake journalism which is just pushing an agenda is clear in this story.

"To get a glimpse of the future of commerce in America, look no further than Sweden."

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/stores-to-cu...come-here/

Here is am interview talking about what a disaster the cash seize in India has been.