Big Brother Fucking up Efficiency Again

[Wraith]

Aimless asked for alternatives, and while I still don't have enough information to be certain it's a good idea, here's one I liked: Have the city operate a mobile shop that drives around like the ice-cream man selling prepaid debit cards. Get a cop to follow them everywhere to make sure they don't get jacked and so everyone knows it's safe to hand this guy cash. It's a workable stop-gap that could provide enough relief that the local economies can start to sort themselves out. Operating expenses shouldn't be too high since you only need targeted coverage, and nobody gets any undue burdens placed on them. Best of all, since anyone who sells prepaid debit cards gets a cut of the processing fees, in the right circumstances it could turn revenue-positive. In which case literally everyone wins.

[Dreadnaught]

This is where I run into problems with the idea of a cashless brick & mortar. The whole point of cash is for a government create and mandate a comprehensive medium of exchange within its sovereign boundaries to put a stop to these kinds of barrier. The motivation may be different but I fail to see the difference in effect between this and refusing to accept, say, paper scrip rather than hard currency. Or refusing to accept fiat currency at all rather than a more tangible material of exchange.

I suppose another question that I struggle with: if someone wants to pay for a new camera in pennies, should a camera store be obligated to accept? If we agree the point of legal tender is for it to be universally accepted, do we have provisions for allowing people to choose the mechanism of transfer?

[GGT]

I suppose another question that I struggle with: if someone wants to pay for a new camera in pennies, should a camera store be obligated to accept? If we agree the point of legal tender is for it to be universally accepted, do we have provisions for allowing people to choose the mechanism of transfer?

That reminded me of S & H Greeenstamps. It was a redemption program based on purchases from participating stores. I bought my first camera that way. It was a nice Nikon. I still remember licking the stamps, counting the pages, getting the necessary points, and taking that to the S&H redemption office. Nikon chose to participate.