this post was submitted on 28 Nov 2023
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When I found out about all that I was honestly kinda glad my country, Germany, isn't the only one that's in the past in terms of bureaucracy and digitalization of services.
But cash is a weird point to add. A society without cash would kinda be dystopian ngl
Without cash, you can't have privacy. All card or contactless payments are logged and probably sold to advertisers or anyone with enough cash who wants that info.
Very true. But those advertisers and data brokers (and governments) have convinced most people that the convenience is worth it, and that only criminals desire that level of privacy.
They can't stop me from using cash if I want to though. It is legal tender for all debts, public and private.
It is legal tender, but you can't force people to accept cash in their own businesses. Before you walk into a store, they can say we do not accept cash. By walking in and buying, you agree to not use cash
Yeah but that doesn't happen. Cash payment is the default standard that backs up the other forms of payment that depend on Internet / phone infrastructure and electricity.
No business that I have ever patronized has refused cash, but many have been cash only and were not able to accept cards or contactless payment. Power outages, Internet outages, etc all can bring down payment systems' infrastructure.
That's how it is in the USA, and it's a good system. Cash is reliable and puts the entire monetary purchasing power into the literal hand of the citizens, versus cards and other digital payment systems that can be controlled by authorities to deny your access to your own money.
It does around here (Norway). I've never even seen how our cash looks like since the late 00s.
The US is a shit system made for fucking the average tax player in the ass
Sounds like you don't know what you're talking about. This all works fine in the USA for us, it's not a bad system at all.
I have ALL options available to me - cards, contactless payment, cash, credit, whatever. I celebrate the fact that cash is an option that lets me avoid having every data-hoarding entity collect records of my purchases.
Taxes aren't fucking me anywhere, I pay them and I get government services and infrastructure in return. Taxes aren't hurting me at all in fact.
Debts, yes. But businesses don't have to accept cash if you pay before the service is rendered or the product is purchased.
Businesses in the USA, especially regions with a higher proportion of black or hispanic residents, will go out of business if they stop accepting cash. It's not going to happen.
I’m an immigrant in Germany and kind of had to laugh at this, because the cash thing is so hard for foreigners here. Since the pandemic it’s been better, but I had multiple moments before it where a grocery store or gas station only accepted cash with zero warning.
I didn’t like having much cash on me at first, because I was worried about losing it or having stolen. After about a year, I did lose my wallet, but the found things bureau at town hall called me to return it, cash still inside it. They charged 10% (iirc) and split it wiith the person who found it.
Edit: name of town hall changed for clarity
I'm currently in Scotland and have experienced the exact opposite xd I was kinda shocked when certain shops and stalls at festivals only offered card payment. Like just a few days ago I went into town and saw that the Christmas market was already up and running so I thought I might as well buy myself a mulled wine. At the stall I realized I didn't have that much cash on me (especially since mulled wine is extremely expensive in Scotland for some reason. Borderline scam lol) and asked if card payment would be okay thinking they would refuse since it's just a stall on a Christmas market so why would they be able to accept card payments right? The clerk answered "Oh yeah we only accept card anyway". I was kinda shocked a bit but I got my mulled wine so all's good :D
Why should the town charge you?
They provide a service, why wouldn’t they? As a student, I didn’t pay any taxes, but I still benefit from the service. If I had had my rent payment in the wallet or hadn’t been able to afford it, I might have tried to cap it, but it was like 60€ total (for a payment of 6€, not a payment of 60€), so I wasn’t bothered.
Because its a public service funded by taxes? Ok now I understand if you didnt pay any
I’m not sure if it’s partially funded by taxes or just the profit from the found things, because I’ve only dealt with them the once. I’d assume it’s at least partially funded by taxes, because they’d need to find a lot of lost things otherwise. I don’t know if a taxpayer still has to pay a fee, but I suspect so, based on how things generally work here (though they’re also generally sympathetic, in the case that someone does have their rent or something that they can’t afford to pay in the wallet, though there probably is a cap on how much someone would have to pay).
I think of it basically as a deductible for the lost item insurance.
Edit: I realized the problem. The found things bureau called me, I just felt like that was a weird translation so said town hall. Sorry lol