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With many countries already heading towards cashless transactions, we are facing some hard decisions. These decisions will be made whether we ignore them or not, so to have a say it is essential to be active. These are not new issues, but they are quickly approaching. Dominic Frisby at The Guardian is the latest to take up some of the pertinent questions around the move to a cashless society.
Poor people and small businesses rely on cash. A contactless system will likely entrench poverty and pave the way for terrifying levels of surveillance.
Source: Why we should fear a cashless world
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In a World Without Cash, Every Payment You Make Will be Traceable
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(Score: 2) by bob_super on Friday July 21 2017, @09:00PM (3 children)
Can you share the name of your dealer? Seems like quality product.
"The Rich" want to use the system to get richer. Bond-level villains who want to take over and control everything are cute, but they're extremely rare. Too much work, too many downsides, for too little profit.
So "they" invest (by contrast with the not-rich, who buy things losing value over time, consume), and "they" use their money to influence the system for a maximum return on investment.
Team up to control the result of the election? Why not, I'm sure some do try. But that's not the finality, which is return on investment. Those who reach very powerful official positions quickly notice that public office is a burden in which you're constantly exposed and criticized, and where building a shiny historical legacy is hard work against bad odds, and interferes with running the kind of successful business that got you there in the first place. That's why, until recently, billionaires weren't as common in office as your statement would imply. Giving bribes towards your desired ROI is a lot cleaner than direct "control".
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 22 2017, @12:04AM (2 children)
> "The Rich" want to use the system to get richer
If the rich wanted to get richer, they would promote development. Because development is more wealth, more stuff to get richer on.
Fact, the economic crisis, who started in 1990, has been forced. There was no need to optimize production at the expense of the workers and that triggered insecurity that triggered less consumption. Add to that the banking phase (first, lend out a lot, then, ask for sums back knowing that the money isn't there, then, seize assets)
And if you start with the capitalist fairy tale about optimization being inevitable, consider that lack of optimization is here, now. In fact you see lack of optimization for stuff like cars, or for a blatant example look at the difference in price/performance between mobile and PCs. They don't want to sell PCs anymore.
(Score: 2) by Pino P on Saturday July 22 2017, @04:58PM (1 child)
Without PCs, what would people use to make mobile apps? AIDE [android-ide.com]? When does Xcode come to iPad Pro?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 22 2017, @11:31PM
Of course, corporations will buy PCs so they can create apps. But you, the consumer, are supposed to just have a mobile device for consuming content, not creating it.
Look at Apple, how they restrict who and what can be published in their store, and how they charge people to even be able to make apps for their iDevices. And their computers are becoming more and more like expensive dongles for iDevice app development rather than a platform anyone takes seriously anymore.