Physical in the non-virtual sense that is.
One of my budgeting tactics is to withdraw all of my liquid, budgeted cash at the beginning of the month, and spend it as necessary until it is gone. It is very easy to see how much you have left to spend if you look at the wad in your wallet everytime you pay for something - kind of like using your checkbook and balancing it every transaction, but for lazy people.
Based on this use of cash, and my more common use of plastic, I find that the Visa commercials where a single cash user beings down the house by slowly paying in cash, is kind of true. They have successfully planted their idea in my head (and I don’t usually watch commercials on TV thanks to the DVR!).
The entire system of cash should be immediately discontinued, and private debit or credit cards used for all transactions. EFT. It is traceable, and auditable. The government should like that. While I don’t underestimate the opportunity for unwarranted surveillance on everything you buy, and I strenuously object to the gathering of data about me, I think that we could find ways to increase our privacy. If there can be cell phones that are available without credit and background info, surely there can be debit cards with the same protections.
If you operated completely in cash, you could in theory stay out of the field of vision of the government. In reality, with itemized, electronic transactions recorded even when you use cash, with electronic surveillance ubiquitous as it is, there is no longer ANY privacy.
The plain, cold facts are:
The Treasury Department is obsolete and is a huge budgetary sinkhole (like watering a lawn) to the tune of $11,455,000,000 per year.
The Treasury Department budget will continue to grow at an increasing rate and will be part of the same unwinnable battle as companies wage against SPAM.
The entire monetary system could be run by banks and businesses with oversight as EFT is now.
There are not only the costs to print new money, but the hidden costs to businesses in processing cash.
Tags: cash, coins, credit, EFT, monetary, money, paper money, treasury department
