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Old April 21st, 2012 #3
Mike in Denver
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Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Under the Panopticon.
Posts: 4,297
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It's obvious who profits from a cashless society - those who want to control us and control our incomes. I pay my bills on-line. I pay for my groceries with a debit card, and my gas and bar/restaurant with a credit card, which I pay on-line. I can't sneak up on anybody or anything.

There is however something called unintended consequences. Today's nearly cashless society, along with other modern economic artifacts, has (see caveat below*) created a cash-only, morphing into a barter, society.

*Caveat: I, of course, have no direct knowledge of this. If I ever witnessed what I'm going to describe, I would immediately call the police, the F.B.I., the Attorney General of the United States, and the Secretary General of the United Nations.

But, here in Denver there is growing a huge cash-only economy, and a small but faster growing purely barter economy.

The first version of this even has a name. It's called "hundies under the table." Hell, I bet most, not a little, but most, blue color work is done for, or partially for, a pocket of hundies that never find their way into the official recording system.

The pure barter system is more subtle and is only starting to grow. For instance, nearly everyone I know here who can, grows food and lots of it. The food is traded for tile work, or some desired exercise equipment, restaurant meals...and so on. Denver residents are now petitioning the city for permission to raise chickens, and even goats. I hope it happens. I grew up on a small farm. Chickens clucking is a beautiful sound. Just don't get more than one rooster.

All of this is hypothetical, of course. Wonderful, too.

Mike
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