The coming brave new world may also be a fragile one.
As most of the Western world is pushed into abandoning cash and embracing a fully digital cashless grid, it is apparent how vulnerable populations will become in times of crisis.
If the power grid were to go down in a storm or an attack, it is readily apparent that the system of commerce would go down with it; payments would stop and desperate people would line up for help. Those with their own supplies, barter items and physical commodities will remain the most comfortable, but the very fabric of society could come unglued.
Will they really ban cash when so much could go wrong?
Paul-Martin Foss writes for the Carl Menger Center:
Cash is being displaced by credit and debit cards, which are themselves beginning to be displaced by new digital currencies and payment systems …
But despite all the advances brought about by the digital revolution, there are still quite a few drawbacks. The most obvious is that it is reliant on electricity. One major hurricane knocking out power, a mid-summer brownout, or a hacker attack on the power grid could bring commerce to a halt. With cash, transactions are still possible. With digital payments, civilization comes to an end until power is restored. Unless you have food stored or goods with which to barter, you’re out of luck. Just imagine a city like New York with no power and no way to buy or sell anything. It won’t be pretty.
[…]
With digital currencies such as Bitcoin, there is the problem that they are created out of thin air. One bitcoin represents the successful completion of a cryptographic puzzle, but all that means is that some computing power was used up to create a unique electronic file. That’s all it is, just a series of ones and zeros. There is nothing tangible about Bitcoin and, indeed, if you lose the hard drive on which you stored your bitcoins, those bitcoins are lost forever.
On top of that, the potential for manipulation and the built-in assault of surveillance and tracking is enough to cripple liberties in the world that is cementing its patterns around this new technology.
What happens when online platforms don’t like your speech or your rights? What happens if their policy blocks you from buying something – like a gun – that you have the right to buy, or prevents you from spending your money, potentially freezing your account without notice. Again, the Menger Center makes the point:
Take a look at PayPal, for instance. PayPal’s terms of service forbid use of the service to buy or sell firearms, firearms parts, or firearms accessories. Many individuals who have used PayPal to sell firearms parts find their accounts frozen or shut down by PayPal. Similar things have happened to gun stores having their bank accounts frozen or having their credit card payment processors refuse to process…
[…]
Cases such as this will only be more widespread in the future, especially as governments continue to pursue the war on cash. If cash is eliminated and electronic systems become the only way anyone can pay for anything, all it will take is a little bit of government pressure on payment system operators to stop processing payments for X or Y and voila, you can longer buy X or Y. What good is money in the bank if you can’t use it to buy what you want? In fact, governments may dispense with pressure on payment systems and just monitor transactions as they occur, automatically rejecting payments for goods they don’t want …
Every transaction made electronically can be tracked and traced. If every purchase you make is done electronically, your entire purchase history is open to scrutiny.
The powerful banking lobby, of course, wants a digital cashless system, because it will enrich them with transaction fees and penalties, continue and expand fractional reserve lending, and give them the power to monitor all the transactions, at detailed levels with data for every purchase. But despite this monitoring, money and transactions will not necessarily be more secure.
You cannot “hold” your money, you must be able to access it, and that depends upon authorization of the system. It can be hacked or erased in a split second.
Can you keep the financial system from limiting your rights and invading your privacy?
And how would America under the digital grid – perhaps 10x worse than Greece when the ATMs are shut down, the banks closed, the grid off and cash eradicated, while the population is forced under the yoke.
Not only is this grid vulnerable, but it is also becoming unavoidable.
Read more:
Banning Cash “Necessary to Give Central Banks More Power”
Cash Ban: Greeks Face “Permanent Cash Controls and Compulsory Use of Plastic Money”
Americans Face Impoverishing War on Cash: “More Big Banks Are Shunning Cash”
Want Cash? Next-Gen ATMs Demand Biometric Verification: “Smartphone and Eye Scan To Dispense Money”
It Took 22 Years to Get to This Point
Iowa's governor Kim Reynolds has extended that bird flu "disaster declaration" after the virus was...
President-elect, Donald Trump has announced that he will enforce tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and...
This article was originally published by Michael Snyder at The End of the American Dream. While...
This article was originally published by Michael Snyder at The Economic Collapse Blog under the...
Commenting Policy:
Some comments on this web site are automatically moderated through our Spam protection systems. Please be patient if your comment isn’t immediately available. We’re not trying to censor you, the system just wants to make sure you’re not a robot posting random spam.
This website thrives because of its community. While we support lively debates and understand that people get excited, frustrated or angry at times, we ask that the conversation remain civil. Racism, to include any religious affiliation, will not be tolerated on this site, including the disparagement of people in the comments section.
When life becomes harder, begin to barter.
Remember, there’s always a way to beat the Devil around the stump.
The War on Cash is About to Go into Hyperdrive
“The global Central Banks have declared War on Cash.
Historically, one of the safest things to do when the markets begin to collapse is to move a significant portion of your holdings to cash. As the old adage says, during times of deflation, “cash is king.”
“…actual physical money or cash (as in bills or coins you can hold in your hand) comprises LESS than 1% of the “MONEY” in the financial system.”
Put simply, the vast majority of wealth in the US is in fact digital wealth that moves from bank to bank without ever being converted into actual physical cash.”
“…if a significant percentage of investors/ depositors ever tried to convert their “wealth” into cash (particularly physical cash) the WHOLE SYSTEM WOULD IMPLODE.
“there simply IS NOT ENOUGH ACTUAL CASH.”
– Zerohedge
The War on Paper Currency Begins: ECB Votes To “Scrap” 500 Euro Bill
“Not a bad way to launch a global ban on paper currency ahead of a global NIRP regime, and all, of course, in the name of fighting “tax evasion, financial crime, terrorism and corruption.”
– Zerohedge
Here Is The REAL Reason Why Authorities Want To Ban High Denomination Bank Notes
“if overnight the €307 billion worth of €500 bills were eliminated, the notional value of the entire amount of European physical currency in circulation would decline by 30% to €700 billion!”
In the U.S….
“As the latest Treasury data shows, $1.08 trillion of the total $1.38 trillion in physical US currency exist in the form of $100 bills.”
“there is now an all too explicit “trial balloon” PUSH to BAN the one banknote ($100 bill) that accounts for a whopping 78% of all US currency in circulation.”
“So there you have the real reason why suddenly high denomination bank notes are the target: it is not because “drug dealers” and tax-evaders use them,
but because between banning Europe’s €500 bill and the US $100 bill, over 56% of all physical currency currently in circulation in Europe and the US would disappear.”
-Zerohedge
Direct links…
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-11/war-cash-about-go-hyperdrive
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-15/war-paper-currency-begins-ecb-votes-scrap-500-euro-bill
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-11/here-real-reason-why-authorities-want-ban-high-denomination-bank-notes
The King is dead… Long live the scheme! Ha ha haaah.
Digital money will allow tracking; however, the real issue is CONTROL! You do something that is not liked, your digital accounts can be wiped out. Then you have to deal with the Gov. to gt back your “digital credits”. Now that is how to control a population with fear…
YOU TELL ME THAT SCALIA WAS ONLY INTERPRETING THE CONSTITUTION ON A LEGAL BASIS, NOT ON A MORAL ONE?
WHAT THE FUCK IS THE POINT OF THE LAW IF IT DOSENT FOLLOW THE DICTATES OF MORALILY?
YOU BABY BOOMERS ARE MINDLESS CATTLE
Bla bla bla it’s always someone else’s fault.
Thanks Acid, I try hard to give you something to BS about. I see I’ve been somewhat successful. Keep up the predicable response. Cheers
Acid, SHEEPLE are mindless cattle. WE ARE NOT!
who is Mora Lily? and why does she dictate stuff?
I was in LA during the northridge earthquake. Cards werent yet as mainstream as they are now. But there was lots of chaos with people having nothing but plastic and no cash to speak of. But the biggest problem were the chain stores that refused to sell anything if it couldnt be scanned by the register. I searched all day looking for a hardware store that would sell me a few plumbing fittings but only found 2 places .that had paper invoices. None had the fittings. They were pretty much cleaned out by the time I got there.
Ed I had the same issue one time when I was on vacation in Tennessee, there was a store SMKW that I had ordered many items from through the mail, and while in the area I really looked forward to shopping at this business, I picked up a few items and when I went to check out there was people standing in line to pay with plastic and the computers were down all over town and I ask to pay with cash and they said they couldn’t do it. We’re closer to the Mark than many people believe. Trekker Out. Make Mine Cash!
What’s interesting is trying to get correct change when the clerks are used to the machine telling them how much to give back! Been to that store many times. Most of that tourist /shopping area would stop dead in its tracks if the power goes out for an extended time. The Mennonites and Amish would be ok tho.
Those ten dollar bills in number ten cans are looking smarter and smarter every day, don’t cha think My Peeps ??? 🙂
DK like everyone says about hiding our guns. If we need to hide them we need to use them. Same goes for $10 bills we better use them for all transaction now, if we don’t, they won’t be any good in #10 cans. Trekker Out. Think I’ll Hide A Few Of Both!
And what THAT comes down to is that if you don’t have the bucks to throw away half your arms and ammo, you end up dead or disarmed. I’m on disability. My ability to travel is limited, and I’ve been robbed of the majority of all I had by addicts. I’m just one old man who must sleep and I have only one pair of eyes. I’m a trained medic with no supplies, an amateur mycologist with little transportation, etc. Some of us, no matter our skills or foresight are just screwed. I STILL can’t understand why D.C. is never confronted as the destructive fraud it is!
Television promotes Fictional Black Heroes
I feel like I’m gonna fucking puke every time I see interracial couples on TV.
Do we really need black genes to drag down the gene pool to go along with black undertow in our once great cities?
Paul Kersey has a whole series of books on the destruction of historically white cities such as Baltimore, St. Louis, Detroit, New Orleans, etc.
Ass’ed, thats every commercial now on TV. Let the brain washing continue. I can see the Add Agencies brain storming in the office now. Lets Make This The Year of Interracial Couples, and cram this down peoples throat. Trekker Out.
Yep, there is a reason why T.V. is called “programming”.
It is not an accident nor a coincidence that it is referred to in this manner.
Programming/Indoctrination has done wonders to the majority of people in this country. We are doomed, just on this experiment alone.
That must be my problem,,
Too much hogans heros as a kid, was programmed
Stop yakking please, you’re becoming more of a nuisance than anything else. Post but please quit blabbing like a spoiled little girl! Oh My, little me must worry about the colored guy BS!
its not the blacks you have to worry about, just wait till the Muslims get here and start taking over. You will see some serious change in America.
someguy.
Yes indeedy, Vicks VapoRub are already using a Muslim woman wearing a hijab in one of their adverts.
Drip, Drip, Drip…
Acid, I see the decline of my city with my own eyes all the time. Don’t need any stinking book to tell me anything.
Brave, they don’t call it “Memfrica” for no reason……
Foxglove, I can’t dispute what you’re saying. I’ll be out of here soon enough the way things are looking.
AE.. Queers and lesbos make me puke. Any difference from your comment?? If not, how can you live with yourself.
rfid and AI were hooked up worldwide on September 23, 2015. reaperishere.weebly
Video games and movies promote Fictional Heroines.
Niln, Amanda Ripley, Lara Croft, and others have no basis in reality.
There are very few women capable of doing anything productive without a structural framework established by white men.
There are very few women capable of handling difficult situations.
Most likely you can expect women to be hysterical and helpless in SHTF.
Acid Etch
women have “manned” the farm and shipyards and businesses when men thought they had better things to do for time and all eternity. White man brings you atomic bombs, now I know that’s special. White man brings you poison in your food, water, air and soil. White bastids and their NWO is getting on my last nerve. Let me stop here before Granny gets her gun and puts you white bastids outcha misery. You are both ignorant and boring.
Rebecca,
Buy that gun with your EBT card?
White man brings you that also.
Acid makes some good points wait and see if no white men left to protect your sorry ass!
Rebecca, I’m also against nukes, poisons, NWO, etc. as long as you’re referring to white males WITH EVIL INTENTIONS TOWARD EVERYONE ELSE, I agree with you wholeheartedly. Not all of us are evil. If it wasn’t for white males coming here in 1607, there would be NO USA.
If it wasn’t for white males we wouldn’t have bridges, highways, interstates, high-rise buildings…and cars to drive to the shopping malls that they built…for women.
Uhh…Acid. I don’t know about helpless, honey. Can you push a 10# howling package out your penis? Didn’t think so…… 😉
well in his defense no woman pushes a 10# anything out of a penis either
all the women I know arnt built like Caitlyn Jenner at least not the women I’ve ever been with
what a gross subject , I dont even know why I responded
EOTS:HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂
Have you inbred hicks ever actually lived in a black majority city?
I have. That’s why we moved. They couldn’t run a grocery store, let alone a city of 50k people. The schools have been taken over by the state since 1997, I think.( lost accreditation). Sad to see. The house we lived in (that my father in law built in 1946) is now being sold for 65k. The last two owners have defaulted. Makes me sick. I worked my guts out on that house and it was beautiful, according to the realtor. We got top dollar in 2005. Got out just in time. Neighborhoods gone down ever since. 🙁
Tips:
Ankle high boots are never acceptable for travel in the winter.
Always wear a helmet on the mountain. Buy a jacket with a hood that is helmet compatible.
Mittens that convert to fingerless gloves by flipping the top off are very useful.
For day trips, I have found that 1 L softshell water bottles are too small. Use 2 L bottles with screw tops. Push-pull tops and hydration bladders don’t work well in real life.
Bear repellent supposedly works better than a gun in repelling wildlife. Always carry a bottle.
Never wear cotton anything. Cotton kills.
Be prepared to slip and fall a lot on the mountain.
Balaclava is a must.
And wool keeps you warm even when it’s wet…
Heat transfers by conduction, convection, and radiation.
If you are sleeping outside in a tent you must have a sleeping pad, either gel or inflatable, to break the contact between the sleeping bag and the ground.
My wife does that just fine, the radiation part.
Exactly! I think it’s unavoidable that we’ll be back to barter for a time. If things get to where some “authority” is monitoring transactions and disallowing those they don’t like, then we’ve lost – the first round of this mess at least. Before it gets there, We the People MUST have control of “OUR” government back! One of the first priorities must be reaching the military. They were NEVER to be used against the American populace! Perhaps the military of some “Holy Monarchy” would fire on their own families – or on other innocent Americans while some other unit fired on their families, but a military CANNOT be forced to obey illegal, immoral orders! They still have rights even in the military. A military that takes orders from the Banksters is committing treason. If their military higher-ups are taking those orders, it REMAINS treason. America has become a land of merciless destroyers in the eyes of the world who RUINS countries on the basis of illegal orders based on false-flags or wholly made-up incidents. The places we attack and the “reparations” we STEAL from countries we’ve destroyed and where they go show us which are which – until we weed out those working for the Banksters. There may be better ways to preempt such orders, too. My beloved country has become a destructive MONSTER marauding through the world while I KNOW my friends and neighbors to be decent, caring people! There’s a HUGE disconnect there that we have to fix!
Let it happen….
Absolutely,
Shit will get absolutely awful when other people have control over everything you want to do/purchase. We will be almost completely at their mercy until we just so “screw it” and go off grid as much as humanly possible.
That can also leave you out of touch and helpless against one small, well-armed squad of robbers OR government goons.
Self reliance,
Barter,
Creative finance
Kula, bingo! Been practicing that for years. Believe it or not, one can actually thrive quite well on those things. Gives “discretionary” a whole new meaning…..
Kula – that sounds like how America should be ツ
KULA , I traded a shotgun for a new sliding glass door then installed the door in a guys house who gave me a large woodburner in trade . I cut hay for a bricklayer who built me a chimney for the stove .
Everybody got something and without FRN’s .
Well said. If there is a will there is a way. Ending cash will only create a black market for it. It doesn’t hurt to have some physical commodities to barter with though.
Kulafarmer
Now you are talking!
I sold 1000 bales of Texas hay in New Mexico and Texas put a new roof on my cabin in Texas. Yay! I walked a guy through probation on his mama (only child no contest) and wrapped up her death certificate, insurance, and property transfers. He did repairs on my truck. Vegetables all summer for beef all winter. My chicken eggs for snow removal on occasion. Just friends helping friends. I love having good friends, don’t you? Makes life worth living for us poor folks.
God bless the “Poor Folks.” They are smart people who solve problems. My kind of people!
Thanks Borodino.
That is a better kind of wealth than what most are after: I have what you need, your neighbor whom you helped three weeks ago has what I need, and ’round it goes. It’s almost infinitely expandable, nobody has to accumulate EVERYTHING, and no one has to go without.
fucker deformed demon. I do mean fucker deformed demon.
Thats mister demon to you
“Who runs Bartertown”?
cash should be a backup for everybody.
the govt. should have a plan B in the event of the grid going down. Cash should remain mandatory. We also have a right to privacy, the govt. doesn’t need to know what we spend all our money on.
You and I think that way but the paranoid bureaucrats dont.
Jim, spot on. Most of my transactions are in cash only. I only keep enough in the bank to pay 2 particular bills and some occasional shopping. I always carry cash. even during power outages, I was always able to get something somewhere with cash as long as I had the right amount. I’ve always got a plan B. I also believe in privacy and it’s no one else’s business what I spend my money on.
You may have noticed that accumulating “stuff” now gets us labelled something offensive and loses us our hard-acquired stuff. The “gov’t” SAYS it will distribute it all “fairly,” but in GuvSpeak that means THEY keep it and we do without. WE are their supply storage. What was common sense (a oxymoron if ever there was one!) and the only reasonable thing to do is now a de facto crime. “Executive Orders” and pseudo “laws” we NEVER got to see or vote on stack the power of a monarchy on the side of Gov’t and leaves us flapping in the cold breeze, empty handed.
Sounds like Porky in NK.
Not true about PayPal I’ve used it to buy stuff they are talking about. Never had a problem once. Some online purchases require you to use PayPal. I feel you shouldn’t have to use it if you don’t want to though. PayPal doesn’t have the right to not take payment for firearms if they are bought through ffl. I’d bet you could win a case against them for freezing your account. A lot of lawyers won’t take cases that would set precedent on issues that are against the mainstream status quo. Possibly because they would have to put their career and reputation on the line. It’s sad they only go after the low fruit. No balls lawyers. Best thing is to just stay out of trouble and hoard $. Pay pal is a online payer to sellers providing secure transactions from fraud. It’s not their business to take a political side in the gun debate. This is the same thing as the cake lady not selling a wedding cake to a gay couple because of religious reasons. You may not agree with it but you cannot descriminate. If this is the case then my religion states that I’m to have a firearm.
Who can say what the future will bring? North Korea could pull an EMP strike or the Syrian thing could go south?
If Saudi Arabia and Turkey go to war with Iran, where does oil go to, $150 a barrel? Bye-bye economy
NATO member Turkey goes to war with Iran/Russia, NATO goes to war with Russia too. Nukes for everybody!
China backs Russia, attacks our bases in the Pacific, Japan and Australia gets pulled in also. A real WORLD WAR
I can smell the stink of death already, HOW MANY MILLIONS THIS TIME?
Wow , Happy dance time , laugh riot .
Thanks for the encouraging words , lmao !
Seminole Wind,
YUP that is a very good synopsis of what COULD be on the horizon, that probably would be the worst case, BUT something wicked this way comes, is definitely coming and won’t be good!
FUCKER DEFORMED DEMON
SW, sounds like the beginning minutes of the movie, “The Book Of Eli”.
Back in the late 1960s my home ec teacher taught us that we would be come the plastic society. Cash would not be used, but only the credit card.
She was more right than she knew.
Yes grandee, and in the early 70’s a sociology professor told the class that very same thing….he also said, “By the year 2020 the living will envy the dead.” Not kidding. That’s what he said. Heard it with my own ears.
2020 will be A very mean year. 2020 BURT!
Y is that when your diaper gets changed?
Hey we quote what someone said 40 or 50 years ago, and people doubt God’s Divine Word which told of this 2000 years ago! Trekker Out. Amazing!
I remember a teacher saying the same thing , he also talked about the coming ice age by the year 2000. lol
Grandee and Hammerhead, that makes 3 of us that had a teacher telling us that. We’re not far from that now. In my area, you would think cash was already banned. Most people I see in the checkout lines in stores use plastic to pay for their purchases. I see much fewer people using cash these days. When I pull out cash, everyone looks at me like I just came in from the damn moon. When people ask me, ‘why don’t you have a credit card?’, I just tell them my income level is too low to qualify for one. That’s something I’ve always refused to have and always will. I don’t want that high-interest credit card bill taking away from my prepping every month. Make your purchase with cash and pay for it right on the spot. It’s a done deal. The store gets the money, you got your merchandise and can go on your merry way. No stinking high-interest credit card bill to worry about later.
Braveheart,
was in a wallyworld the other day and waiting in line when i noticed the line slowed down and some people were acting funny, they were upset because the person up front was paying cash and it was taking to long for them! welcome to the future, even if they ban cash it will take quite awhile before it all happens.
barter is good IF you can! and IF things get worse, will become more of a norm!
Apache54, barter will eventually become a lifeline for all of us. I’ve been taking some bartering lessons from the family in GA. it’s best to know how before TSHTF.
Yes, their words sure are coming true. BTW, Brave I also have the same experience when I go grocery shopping. I pay with cash. I have a credit card and a debit card but pay cash. I see the cashiers eyes roll and the person behind me gets all huffy, that is, if they are younger than me.
If the person behind me was born after 1970 they look at me like I am from another planet. They are so stupid and assuming, that they assume you don’t have a bank account or a credit/debit card if you pay with cash.
Not that long ago, like 10 years or so, it was the other way around. If you made purchases with plastic the perception was that you were in over your head financially and you were looked down upon. I remember a friend telling me she was so broke she had to charge her groceries and that pulling out the plastic was very embarrassing. I remember feeling her pain. It’s not that way anymore.
Aside from having to scrutinize the monthly statement or pay high interest rates, I feel that the less I use the cards the less exposure to identity theft and fraud. I don’t need the aggravation of keeping track of my purchases and scrutinizing the bill every month… and like you said I pay with cash and it’s ‘a done deal.’
CommonCents, truer words were never spoken. Young people will give you the crazy looks faster than anyone else. It’s especially true about them being so stupid and assuming that everyone should have a credit card. with a checking account you can get a debit card, but NOT EVERYONE QUALIFIES FOR CREDIT CARDS. Those are based at least in part on your income. I’ve never had any desire for a credit card and don’t make enough money to be concerned about it anyway. To me credit is just a luxury. I won ‘t let that interfere with my prepping.
I consider a debit card more risky, because a breach of security accesses YOUR money. A credit card breach allows access to the bank’s money. Even if a debit card covers losses, you still go without your money until the situation gets resolved.
A credit card can be useful in emergencies. If you are stranded, the only way that you can rent a car or get a hotel room these days is with a credit card. Believe me, I am not a fan of these things but I am forced to accept that it can be almost impossible to obtain certain goods and services without a card.
Karl – oh yeah, I totally agree.
OT – And, the next time I am ridiculed or mocked for paying cash, “YOU DON’T GET A SAY IN HOW I CHOOSE TO PAY” gets shouted right in their face. Experience tells me they will cower and shut-up real fast.
Bringing it to the attention of management does nothing – they are just as ignorant and disrespectful as the people they hire because the people with common sense and manners are retired or they are too skilled to be a cashier.
The mature, respectful people are retired, and those that need to work part-time to supplement their SS/retirement income don’t want to work with a bunch of entitlement ignoramuses who think they know more than everyone else and who are mistakenly convinced they developed the technology (ie, the Internet for one), the technology they routinely use to insult and mock an entire generation when they were somewhere between Kindergarten and High School when all that hi-tech Research & Development was taking place and rolled out for the masses.
I think most people use Debit Cards not CC at grocery stores.
Thanks Brave – I agree –
Dr Prepper – you don’t know that for sure…can’t tell the difference between the two pieces of plastic when someone whips their card out and slides it through. I think many put the charges on their CC (not DC) because they are broke from trying to keep up with their friends; buying the latest/greatest devices and SUV’s they can’t afford.
**************************************
TO ADD: So, my point was there is no reason for the disrespectful treatment and attitude. It happens every time I go to the store and pay cash if the person behind me is a lot younger… a stupid, immature mentality.
I don’t need to worry about the statement or review it with a fine-toothed comb or up the chances of having my info stolen when I can just as easily pay cash. It’s not hard to pay cash and it’s really none of their business.
I only use the CC/DC for very large purchases, like a major appliance or new computer, that is, if I have the cash saved up and then pay it all off in 1 installment, or within 3 installments at the most. I see people whip out their CC/DC for $10 worth of items. Do they not know how to withdraw cash from the ATM.
My other (even more important) point is that they are facilitating and perpetuating a ‘cashless society’, which is exactly what we DON’T want to happen.
The younger people are assuming and presumptuous and know nothing outside their own little world and have no concept of what they are encouraging and supporting OR what the world was like before they came along — that it was completely different. They don’t even try to imagine it. Instead they mock it. And, road-rage, identity-theft, etc., was extremely rare, so rare we never heard of it until ‘you know who’ entered adulthood.
People were civil to each other back then, and the younger generations didn’t dare insult, mistreat or disrespect someone older. Now there’s no shortage of some snot-nose brat rolling their eyes at anyone old enough to be their parents if they dislike or disapprove of their choices.
When I pay cash they get all pissy and rude, even though last time I checked I don’t report to them, it’s none of their business, and I am old enough to be their mother. It happens all the time. Even the cashier said aloud to me as I handed her six $20 bills to cover my groceries, “You know, you could just use your card”…then, when I didn’t respond, she tags on “If you have one.” Very ignorant and condescending. When the shtf I am not helping any of those know-it-all twerps.
Paying with plastic everywhere they go DOES open one up to identity theft and fraud and we all pay for it – taxpayers pay for these crimes. And it does increase the chances of crime….and it DOES push us closer and closer to a cashless society. But you can’t tell these know-it-alls anything because they are too busy knowing it all.
If this happened to me, I would immediately bring the line to a dead halt by requesting the presence of the front end manager pronto. I would reiterate the remark to the manager, adding that the comment seemed intended as a demeaning insult; and I would request contact information for the general manager of the store. If s/he was on site, I would request to speak to the GM immediately.
After making sure that the front end manager had supplied me with the cashier’s name and store ID number, I would then complete my purchase. My parting shot to the cashier would be: “By the time this is over, I hope you learn some lessons about how to do your job…. if you have one.”
it’s very difficult for ME, this predicting thing…..especially the part where the FUTURE is involved…seems that guy named……orwell, was it?….had a little to say about the future, way back when…
BCOD
Funny thing about the future,,
Maybe, maybe not!
Just dont know
I cast all shit ass demons out in the name of Jesus.
Jim Speakrer
You got a first here at SHTF.
An Exorcism.
Jim Speakrer, if you cast out the trolls I’ll buy you a steak dinner.
Good One Braveheart, 100 thumbsup!
Paying cash for that dinner, I presume….
Ohhh isnt that sweet
Kula and MT, ANYTHING that gets rid of trolls gets my approval.
Go drink some holy water.
Orwell did warn people,unfortunately his book was used as a blue print of new society.
yes, and as i recall, they made a documentary movie from the book, eventually….idiocracy, was it?….yes, yes, that’s it.
No, bcod, that was none other than Yogi Berra!
“predictions are hard, especially about the future.” Lol
yes, yogi was a very funny guy….actually, BOTH yogi’s were funny!
I remember doing a current events presentation on the coming ice age prediction in grade school. My kids love it when I mention that to global warming grafters. Also the prediction how the home pc would save trees hahaha….
I do think the day will come (and probably sooner than later) when we cannot buy firearms anywhere in the U.S. with cash and most major credit cards companies will adopt PayPal’s policy and will not accept payment for firearms.
So instead of banning firearms altogether, and dealing with the aftermath of the hell that will break lose from that decision, they’ll make them virtually impossible to obtain…unless you buy them illegally, which can be risky.
Thats why my next investment is going to be a gunsmiths lathe, vertical mill and a broaching machine
That still leaves a few hundred million floating around in private hands that can switch hands at any time.
Also, there will be a credit card(s) that will not follow PayPa’s lunacy, if nothing else, for economic reasons.
I wouldn’t worry too much about.
Just like I wouldn’t worry too much about cash going away…a good sized portion of the population is “un-banked”…..you cut out cash, they aren’t going to switch to cards for a variety of reasons.
If nothing else, think of the illegal drug trade and all the pockets it lines up and down the road. Cut out cash, and you’ll kill a significant portion of the economy they claim they are “fighting”, and yet been losing the fight from day one (on purpose is my guess).
TN Andy, not everyone qualifies for credit even under the current criteria in the credit policies. Even with a bank account you won’t necessarily be eligible.
Yes, that’s very true, Brave… and those who do somehow qualify for a CC look down on those who don’t OR assume that if you don’t use a CC/DC you are behind the times or impoverished — not that you are financially stable and highly responsible. No shortage of ignorance these days.
Amazingly, there are now so many people who create the illusion of wealth when they live a reality of poverty.
TnAndy – Good points.
Thanks for the info about guns and Paypal. I don’t like fascism, and if people find something wrong with the Constitution, then they ain’t getting a penny from me. Paypal will never be something I use.
Test,
I’m going to climb my first glaciated peaks soon.
It’s very dangerous.
Ass’ed Itch you are a BS Artist!
M Trekker – Schizophrenia, although not very common, is a serious mental disorder; delusions, delusions of grandeur, paranoia, false beliefs that they refuse to acknowledge and change, disorganized thoughts, behavior and ideologies that change from day-to-day… to name a few symptoms.
Wyoming has the most glaciers in the lower 48. Ass’ed if you fall, just remember scavengers have to eat too. Trekker Out. What A Rush!
Acid, solo?
Enjoy and good luck.
I shit canned PP a long time ago probably 10 years ago now
I got their number when they tried to stiff me out of 380$
I sucked my account dry and never used them again
Anybody catch the PayPal superbowl commercial? New money vs Old money? New money good. Old money bad. New money is progress(ive). Old money is stuck in the past. etc.
Yes I did and nearly fell off the couch. Cash is old, plastic is new. Its happening much faster than I feared. Too much bad juju converging all at once. Just want to live in peace and be left alone but they wont let me.
Go Outside & Start Looking up Towards the Sun. You will start to see Nibiru / Planet 7X coming-out from behind the Sun, Now Making the BIG Swing Around & Starting to Head Our Way Towards Earth. Date of Arrival is March 26, 2016.
I Do Not Want Blood on MY Hands, ( So I’m Giving You THIS Secret, BEFORE 350 MILLION PEOPLE FIND OUT ). Because MOST EVERYBODY IS NOT PAYING ATTENTION & SEEING PLANET 7X, ON WHAT’S NOW COMING INBOUND. ( YOU Had Better Be READY, BEFORE THE MASSES FIND OUT BEFORE HAND.)
In the Next 2-3 Weeks the Banksters & Wall-Street Will be Pulling the Plug on the Economy, & ALL BANKS WILL BE CLOSED & A BANK HOLIDAY / Bank Bail-in Will Occur. What-Ever Money You Have on You Now, is All the Money You Will EVER Have. Keep Your Money OUT of Your Accounts. ( There About to Confiscate & Steal Everyone’s MONEY ).
As of RIGHT NOW, YOU Have Less Than 3 Weeks Time-Frame, to Get Every-thing You Need, & You Better Make Sure You Have Enough Supplies ( Food, Water, First-Aid & Medical, Bathroom, Cooking, Camping & Survival Gear, Personal Protection Equipment), & Anything Else You Can Think of to Last You This Entire Year of 2016 & Well Beyond That. CAUSE THATS ALL YOU GOT TIME FOR.
At Some Point in the Month of March, Fema, DHS, & the National Guard will be Closing Down ALL Points of Entry at State Lines, ALL Freeways Around Large Cities, & ALL Bridges. NO ONE will be able to leave, or come into near their place of home. Where-Ever you are, at the time / YOU / will be stuck there.
Starting in April 2016, After the First Few EVENTS Take Place, There will be NO Utilities for About 5 Years or so. This Means No Running Water, No Electric, No Natural Gas, No Garbage Services, No Cell or Home Phones, No Running vehicles, NOTHING. You Better Have a Bicycle Ready, or You Will Be Walking.
Get This Done Now, Before 350 Million People Find Out About this EVENT. Planet 7X is NOW Coming in, Because When the Prez Makes his Announcement to the World, It’s all Over With, & You will be LEFT WITH NOTHING. Alot of People will Not Have Supplies Due to Shortages, Which is NOW being Done on Purpose. ( Then You Will Really Have to Protect Your Investments ).
This is it FOLKS, it’s Coming in-Bound, Weather you like it or not, Get Your Hearts Right With the LORD NOW, Repent & Ask Jesus For Forgiviness of Your SINS. Peace be With You & May the Good Lord look After You & Protect You Always in Jesus Name.. Best Wishes & Regards Robbie.. 🙂
Cool!
Gotta get another 50# bag of popcorn kernels,,,
Hell ‘yea Kula – after more than 4 years of sobriety … I’m gonna go back to drinking! Gonna dust off the good ‘ol distillery equipment and start making some fk’n shine!
When March 26th arrives, and then passes us by. I’m gonna need to ask this good ‘ol fella Robbie where Nibiru is? Cuz I can’t see it … gotsta drink ‘mor mutha fk’n shine to see Nibiru!
Naaa, stay sober cuz,, is way easier than tryin to get clean again
sage advice. I just passed 25 years, but I can assure you if I see another planet show up I’m getting a bottle of Mexcal and some limes
I suppose you are right, even though I’ll admit drinking is a hell of a lot of fun … with that fun … it does have it problems.
I guess I’ll keep distilling on the back burner for a hobby.
Here’s one for ‘ya … I call it …
WELCHES FROZEN GRAPE DRANK OBAMA-GHETTO-MONKEYSHINE BRANDY
10 cans (11.5 oz) Welches 100% frozen grape concentrate
7 Lbs granulated sugar
water to make 5 gallons
wine or distillers yeast
Bring 5 quarts of water to boil and dissolve the sugar in the water. Remove from heat and add frozen concentrate. Add additional water to make five gallons and pour into secondary. Add remaining ingredients except yeast. Cover with cloth fastened with rubber band and set aside 12 hours. after cooling to proper yeast temperature, add activated yeast and recover with cloth. Ferment 30 days..
Pruno
Kulafarmer
Can you use a welder’s shield to see it? Dark lense. Hell out in the middle of the pacific it has to be real clear.
I just wonder why you had to sugar-coat that so much? so that’s all you got? a planet makin’ a pass at U.S.? ….let me know when I can SEE the sumbich in the sky…I got this game of solitaire to tend to…
Yup, working on reading the print on the inside of my eyelids in about 5,4,3,2 well maybe a bit later but thats definitely headed this way
with a deck of 51, “Smokin’ cigarettes and watchin’ Captain Kang-a-roo, now don’t tell me, I got nuthin’ to do”……
Yeah! Now HERE’S a guy who GETS it! No mamby pamby EMP maybe next week, no starvation by hoards of radiated locusts from Japan, no trivial disease de jour but a real, honest to God Earth ending ball buster! I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m gettin’ me a seat on Niburu with Dave Hodges and Hcks! We’ll send ya a postcard Luke ’cause this one’s gonna be a natural born world shaker!
But Robbie, won’t I go blind if I look towards the sun???
grandee, use sunglasses!
Look at nighttime.
THAT was funny, geezer!!!
old geezer
Still trying to find that Polish Astronaut.
Cosmonaut comrade slingshot.
“Momma always told me not to look into the eyes of the sun”, but Momma, that’s where the fun is”….-The Boss.
Pop, I think it was Manfred Mann…
He was ‘front man’ for Manfred Mann back then I believe. But no it wasn’t with his E street band.
Originally…
eppe, Bruce Springsteen wrote the song and first recorded it. Manfred Mann picked it up and re-recorded it and it became popular. Springsteen though was not a front man for MM like I thought.
Thank you. Pop, did not know that…
Well Robbie 41, just why should I be concerned about this? Enlighten me. Is this planet suppose to collide with ours? Will we be invaded by aliens? Inquiring minds want to know.
Wouldnt that be a jaw dropper if something like that did happen
List of Events to take place during the 5 Months of the Great Tribulation Period of Planet Nibiru / Planet 7X’s Visit.
1. In the Evening Hours of March 25, 2016, About 6 Hours before the planet is at it’s closest approach, BEFORE it gets even with us, the Earth will tilt 26-28 degrees, Then within 4-6 hours the arctic winds will arrive & will be around 300 MPH, this will last for a few Hours. Any steel structures will shatter from the frigid temperatures.
2. In the Morning Hours of March 26th, The Earth will be going through the plasma debris tail ( 1st of 2 Passes ) of the Planet. In the morning time hours, the Asteroids & Meteors will come crashing down to earth, for a little more than one hour. The sizes of these objects will be as follows. Bikes, Motorcycles, Small Car’s, Big Car’s Full Size Truck’s, SUV’S, Small Home’s, Bigger Home’s.
During this time 100’s of Cities, Town’s Village’s, Township’s around the country will be on Fire & Burning.
The Gravitational Forces of Planet 7x will take the Ocean Waters, & will be Lifted up & Dragged onto both sides of the Continental U.S & pulled inland for 100 miles or so. Same effects & results for the Great Lakes here in Michigan.
For the Next 5 Months, All around the country, volcanic activity will be going on with many eruptions, as the earths crust is moving, stretching, cracking, & buckling, from the planets presence.
All 70 Active Nuclear Power Plants in the U.S. will be taken down by the icy cold winds, & Meteor Showers & could result in 70 Fukushima’s going off with no way to stop the meltdown’s.
ALL Electronics will be rendered useless, never to be used again, because of the MASSIVE E.M.P. effects of the sun & Planet 7X, so close together, & the Earth going through the Plasma Tail. This means no more Utility Services, Electricity, Natural Gas, Running Water, Garbage Services, or anything else, for the NEXT 5-10 YEARS.
There will be a 3 Hour Eclipse, which the earth will see Ice Cold Temperatures.
After the Eclipse then the Planet starts it’s long journey back out, but in Sept the Earth will go through another 1 Hour Pass of the debris tail of the Planet, but this time it will be at night-time.
After all this takes Place & Planet Nibiru / Plant X is finally on it’s way out again for another 360 Year Orbit, Hopefully who-ever was prepared & weathered this event will come out & have to start a brand new life from SCRATCH, as the Amish has for 100’s of year’s.
I believe now very seriously that it would be a very wise choice, to start thinking about planning, preparations, & start to stock-up on Food, Water, Medical Supplies, Camping & Survival Gear, Personal Protection Supplies, Bathroom Supplies, & anything else you can think of, so you may give your-self a FIGHTING chance for your very own survival, for the rest of this year, of 2016.
Why would a person want to survive 300 MPH winds and 70 Fukashimas at once? I am going to sit down and have a stiff drink or ten and pray.
I’ve already poured mine.
300 mph wind will implode most people’s houses, my architectural shingles are only rated at 80 mph…
Umm, I thought ‘Nibiru’ was on a 3600 year cycle? Regardless, no one is gonna do shit about it until they see it, and of course it will be too late. Fuck Earth, it’s doomed any way and the end of civilization will be the best thing ever happened to it.
FUCKME!
If its gonna crack and bust steel structures from the cold and the wind blows 300 mph, w(who)tf is gonna be left to restart anything.
I’m gonna get Bullwhinkle to grant me a reading.
I just want to make sure that I understand this right.
Asteroids, meteors, cities on fire, 300 mph winds, dozens of nuclear meltdowns, volcanoes, earthquakes, giant tsunamis, alternating temperatures of blast-furnace heat and absolute-zero cold.
But I have a fighting chance if I run out to the store tomorrow morning to stock up on canned soup and toilet paper.
My nephew is having A shit ass baby in may. What kind of life will that ass kid have in the future?
Well, I’m glad our old friend Nibiru is back for yet another reprise…
For the 896th time, take a bow Mr. Niburu! And we’ll see you again next year… and the year after that and the one after that.. just in time for the Aztec calendar end and then the Incan calendar end and then the Sioux calendar end and….
Don’t forget the Baseball Season calendar!
Spring Training has started…!
Is Robbie related to HCKS?
if a planet is coming ,, why should i care about any money ?
this dont make sense
But then some say there will be floods to drown mountains, earthquakes to topple them as well as buildings… Basically there’s going to be no way to now exactly WHAT parts of the Earth it will affect how, and so no way, really, to prepare for it.
“You pays yer nickel and ya takes yer chances…” No?
So in essence, the only warning anyone can give with any truth to it is saying, “Life is about to really really SUCK for awhile. Good luck!”
If they shut down I-95 so the Massholes and New Yawkas can’t flood into Maine this summer, I’ll be dancing in the streets with joy.
rfid and AI were hooked up worldwide on September 23, 2015. reaperishere.weebly
Article is spot-on. You have one routine, region-wide emergency, such as a hurricane or earthquake, without physical cash to carry out day to day activity, everything will grind to a halt.
Look at what happened with Sandy. Two and three days post-Sandy, people were in panic mode. They had nothing for supplies even though the forecasts were dialed in on the storm for eight days. The utility grid went down, and took both the transportation and fuel grids with it. Diesel and gasoline could not go from distribution facility to retail facility because there was no electricity to put the fuel in the trucks. In the process, the part of the banking system that still worked was physical cash. You couldn’t use a card anywhere. What became of those people who had no preparations or physical cash? They made the evening news, bleating like sheep for a case of short-coded MREs and a case of bottled water.
Always have physical cash in your kit. Always have physical cash cached with your supplies, wherever they may be. When the worst case scenarios become reality, you will still be able to get what you need if you have physical cash. Even if you have a grid-down scenario where the country completely disintegrates, physical cash in the form of dollars is still going to get the job done. You’re still going to need a means to reconstitute something that looks like a functioning national economy, and physical cash in the form of dollars is the most expedient way to do so.
Think of it this way: what city would be the location of a provisional US government the day we face that absolute, worst case scenario? Denver. They have communications (KOA 850 AM). They have a massive airport. They have a US Mint facility, which means a provisional government can print money.
cashless is on the road to rfid and credits system. who is using cash to pay their monthlies. rfid is coming to control migration; electric borders; you can’t buy or sell in a region if you are not approved.
Great article. I’m linking this to my blog at
http://survivalgearup.blogspot.com/
Doug.
Luvit. Thanks for the link.
If you stash cash it is a good idea to always be on the lookout for real assets that can be purchased if/when the grid goes down or the balloon goes up.
There will be a time frame of denial/inaction on most folks’ parts.
I am watching for pre 1974 vehicles,heavy equipment, and military surplus vehicles daily. I also watch out for livestock.
I don’t see TPTB eliminating cash. What will they pay their hookers, dealers, and mistresses?
When all drugs are legal and prostitution, too, I will start thinking about a cashless USA.
Ben, They all ready are to a certain degree. TPTB are pushing it forwards softly, softly in order to not attract too much attention.
The social acceptance of euthanasia is their next humanitarian enhancement program.
They’re rotten to the core.
“…rotten to the core.” And with all the skilled assassins on this planet, NOBODY seems to be able to get a bead on them and actually DO something.
Everything I’ve read about the so-called “elites” says they are absolute sociopaths – no conscience whatever, AND they really enjoy the suffering of others, torture especially. They’re also FASCINATED by beheading, and have the guillotine rooms in the FEMA Camp trains ad in the camps saturated with high-res pinhole cameras. There’s a LOT on the Net that insists they’re behind most of the kidnapping of young children, infants especially – for Luciferian sacrifices. You know: drinking the blood, butchering the remains and cooking and eating those as a “sacrament” and so on. It makes good blackmail material as well.
And THOSE are, so they say, the REAL rulers of Western “civilization”. You know, even if Nibiru lands on me, as long as THEY’RE next door I’d have to call it a good trade… As far as euthanasia goes, like everything else, if it’s made generally legal, it will be abused. I’ve already read stories about that and a few elders who were NOT “ready to go” and couldn’t get themselves out of the trap in time. A few were rescued by relatives, but most are kept out of it until it’s ‘way too late. Again, I’ve read stories by relatives who caught it and rescued their loved ones. One had pulled out the IV with the sleepy-drug in it and tried to get up, so dehydrated she could barely speak, and was about to get knocked out when her daughter stopped it. It wouldn’t take long for geriatrics to be more about saving insurance payout costs than about saving lives!
I feel for you Ian. Take care fella.
So how does this work exactly: the CIA transfers opium guarded by US Army in Afghanistan into heroin into US and their junkies will be using electronic credits for their next fix? I don’t think so…unless they legalize all illegal drugs.
A friend of mine had Bank Of America ask for his ID last week. He has his business account with them. Has for years. He was depositing a couple of checks and 150.00 dollars in cash. He asked why he needed to show his ID. The teller said because he was depositing cash.
Not withdrawing depositing!
The banks have become part of the watchdogs.
BOA was giving out letters last week telling everyone that they were going to have to show ID for all cash transactions and will be required in the near future to sign a form when they deposit cash as well.
How do i light wet charcoal?
dry it out first
Prepper Tip of the Day
Victorio
Hand Grain Mill
h tp://beprepared.com/victorio-hand-grain-mill.html
on sale for $44.99
this is a basic mill
but might make a good back up
and you won’t beat this price ?
Yep. Went out to eat Sunday for valentine day and as we came in, the girl was telling everyone that they could not except cards, only cash right now. Most people were turning around and leaving. I have always carried a few $20’s tucked away for emergencies, so we were good. It was interesting though, watching some of the girls trying to figure the bill on a hand calculator and make change. They were so used to having the machine do it all.
I was carry about $50 in my wallet, another $300 hidden in my truck and finally $5K at home in the safe, nothing bigger than a 20.
Americans PAY millions to this company and then American workers LOSE their jobs.
Carrier Received $5.1 Million in Obama-Stimulus Cash Before Move To Mexico
“Heating and air-conditioning company Carrier, which has announced it will move 1,400 Americans’ jobs to Mexico, received $5.1 million from the Obama administration.”
Local media reported the “Department of Energy awarded Carrier $5.1 million in clean energy tax credits in December 2013” for its Indianapolis facility.
They planned to use the money to “expand production at its Indianapolis facility to meet increasing demand for its eco-friendly condensing gas furnace product line.”
Breitbart
Direct link…
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/02/15/carrier-received-5-1-million-in-obama-stimulus-cash/
Split it amongst the board members and CEO now hauling ass for ‘ol Mehico’.
“Living on the road my friend, who’s gonna keep you free and clean.”
“Now you where your skin like iron, your breath is hard as kerosene”.
“Weren’t your Momma’s only boy, her favorite one it seems,”
“She began to cry, as you said goodbye… and sank into your dreams
,”
“Poncho was a bandit boy, his horse was fast as polished
steel”,
“He wore his gun outside his pants, for all the honest world to feel,”
“Poncho met his match you know, in the desert down in Mexico,”
Nobody heard his dyin’ words, so the story goes.”
-Willie nelson/Merle Haggard
From the article:
“With digital currencies such as Bitcoin, there is the problem that they are created out of thin air.”
Yeah….loved that. Apparently the author has no clue how money is created now….it’s the SAME thing….a bookkeeping entry for a loan, and they create new money. You don’t even have to solve some kind of computer puzzle.
The days of mining, growing, building something to create money are gone, and have been for generations. It was far too restrictive on the economy, and the bankers couldn’t squeeze enough return out of it.
People REALLY need to understand the system in place now before worrying about what is coming.
“People REALLY need to understand the system in place now before worrying about what is coming.”
Andy, What a kill Joy you are.
Let’s talk about smoething REALLY important;
Have you watced Khloe Kardashian’s new show “Kocktails with Khloe”. hahahahaha
the issue of electricity has already been resolved. How about getting your energy from the ambient radio waves propogating through the atmosphere. Sounds like magic. Well guess what its here and its commercialised.
The beast system is a 24 hour worldwide system with no downtime.
http://abc.cs.washington.edu/
http://www.ibtimes.com/no-batteries-required-ambient-backscatter-allows-battery-free-wireless-devices-video-1390837
This is all so very confusing, if only I could figure what to do with the 250+ one hundred dollar bills I carry around in my pocket with no place good to hide them. Troubling at best.
aljamo
You should give me them to hide for you. lol
They are worthless after all. lol
It is all by design.
When the bankers get rid of cash, they will institute NIRP.
Take your money out of the banks!
Does this really surprise anyone? Has anyone read the book of Revelation? There will be a day that no one will be able to buy food or goods with out a “mark” now we can argue about what that mark will be but when it happens it will be obvious. I think it will be a chip or bar code mark of some sort.
When this collapse happens, and it will, there will at some point be a leader rise up and unless you accept his “deal” and receive the mark, you will not do any business. ( Cashless society )
Do the demons that are behind all of this world already have it all in place? They just might.
Every thing going on in the world today is in the Bible as prophesy. Israel will stand alone among the nations in the end. Is that not happening now right before us? I say it is good to store goods and prepare, but if you get the God thing wrong ( if you dont know Jesus> ) then you are preparing in vain. You are like a man who built his house on the sand only to see it be swept away in the end.
Prepare yes, but also seek out Jesus Christ and you will be truly prepared.
Mac, Here I have to ask you yet again why does it take over 4 hours for a comment I submit to get posted? I would think it would be to your benefit to get more comments per thread, not less.
On the use of cards. We use a credit card for everything and pay it off every month. It is cash back. From 1% to 5% depending on what we buy. Same card since the ’80s. As a financial instrument, it pays better than a savings account.
Not that it’s hard to see where tptb now want to take us. Fuedalism.