Posted on 03/19/2012 2:27:04 PM PDT by DeaconBenjamin
Sweden was the first European country to introduce bank notes in 1661. Now it's on the path toward getting rid of them.
The contours of such a society are starting to take shape in this high-tech nation, frustrating those who prefer coins and bills over digital money.
In most Swedish cities, public buses don't accept cash; tickets are prepaid or purchased with a cell phone text message. A small but growing number of businesses only take cards, and some bank offices — which make money on electronic transactions — have stopped handling cash altogether.
"There are towns where it isn't at all possible anymore to enter a bank and use cash," complains Curt Persson, chairman of Sweden's National Pensioners' Organization.
That's a problem for elderly people in rural areas who don't have credit cards or don't know how to use them to withdraw cash.
In the Carl Gustaf Church in Karlshamn, southern Sweden, Vicar Johan Tyrberg recently installed a card reader to make it easier for worshippers to make offerings.
"People came up to me several times and said they didn't have cash but would still like to donate money," Tyrberg says.
Bills and coins represent only 3 percent of Sweden's economy, compared to an average of 9 percent in the eurozone and 7 percent in the U.S., according to the Bank for International Settlements.
The Swedish Bankers' Association says the shrinkage of the cash economy has impacted crime statistics.
Bank robberies in Sweden plunged from 110 in 2008 to 16 in 2011 — the lowest level since it started keeping records 30 years ago. Security transport robberies are also down.
"Less cash in circulation makes things safer, both for the staff that handle cash, but also of course for the public," says Par Karlsson, a security expert.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Records of EVERY transaction:
We KNOW we could trust Obama with that, right?
"If there were no cash, what would they do?" says Ulvaeus, 66.
Before his utopia comes true, has this former ABBA guy considered moving out of the crime infested area they live in? 3 times?
Seriously though, these guys fail to realize that the absence of cash will create a vacuum in which another form of curency will spring up. That would have to be made illegal.... and down we spiral.
Not to mention what happens after the EMP. They'll be using lutefisk as money.
Thats a Norwegian treat. Swedes do not want.
I propose a law requiring the DEATH PENALTY for anyone who programs a computer virus or steals your money online
Who’s with me?
I remember when I was a little kid, I had a Sunday School teacher that one day we’d go to some cashless society.
The thieves will now be able to steal it all with a few key strokes instead.
With this news, we can see the sky glow of a Beast who is now just over the horizon. Futehr ground work will be laid when government takes the next step (which it ALWAYS does) and passes laws that deny electronic cash accounts to anyone deemed to be dangerous or “anti-social”. Such people will be forced to become economic exiles, unable to hold a regular job, pay rent, and unable to even shop for food in stores.
History has been written in advance!
Yep. Easier to hide the money as well. Also, no chance of getting shot of your a** kicked. This is a very poor idea. Between thieves and anarchists something bad will happen.
The idea that I have to have a ‘cell phone’ to live & do business just doesn’t seem correct to me.
I don’t have one now & I don’t think I need one.
IMO, your proposal seems to be unnecessarily constrained. Thefts and robberies are more dangerous and offer less recourse.
On the other hand, graduated punishment is meant to prevent robbers from killing everyone in their path - if the penalty for holding someone up and the penalty for mass murder is the same (death.)
On the gripping hand, retention of criminals within the society only leads to more crime. The question here is simple: what is more important, life of one criminal or stability and mental health of many innocents?
This question was answered many times in history of the society, not to liking of criminals. This is because every society - even a fairly backward feudal one - knew that without stability their own roots will be undermined. Merchants will stop coming; peasants will be robbed and unable to pay their dues, or killed (which is bad since they are property of the lord.) In the end the lord himself will be unable to pay his dues to the king.
bttt
I wondered about that when I wrote it. OK, then, they'll have to use glogg for money (used to live in Jamestown, NY. That was one bit of Swedish culture I really liked).
Not only your privacy is gone, but your ability to save without the threat of government confiscation.
I blame Krona Capitalism.
So instead of being robbed by a common thief, they can look forward to being robbed by the government and their proxies through government controlled banks. They already are. After this, the abba dude can move on and advocate for implanted chips.
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