We always hear murmurs about a “Cashless Society” taking place.
Today, we will delve into the pros and cons of what this would look like:
Pros
· Lower Crime: Duh. No more stealing cold hard cash. No more old fashioned bank robberies (although that has been fazed out for quite some time). Crime would definitely go down. And that is a big, big plus.
· Less Time Spent Handling Cash: We wouldn’t have to run to the bank, or ATM, or anything that we are so accustomed to doing. That would be nice.
· No Money Laundering: Everything would be recorded (with the use of blockchain technology). Therefore, money laundering would essentially cease to exist. Phony corporations and organized crime would die out. No one could cheat the system.
· Taxes: Doing your taxes could be simplified quite a lot. It would all be recorded electronically. Perhaps at one point, hiring people to do your taxes would no longer be a thing. It would be computed within seconds.
Cons
· Jobs: True, jobs may be lost. Finance and accounting jobs may no longer be such a hot commodity. But perhaps other positions could be created to perfect and ensure that a cashless society would run smoothly (More computer science and software jobs???).
· Hacking Paradise: Hackers would undoubtedly target our finances. All of our information would be one password away. Then again, don’t most of us already have online banking?
· Reckless Spending: I’m not sure if this is really a legit reason not to pursue a cashless society, but for many people it is a true concern. Take out $300 cash for a night on the town and you may feel like you want to faint. Throw your card out on the table and all seems well. It’s as if you aren’t even spending money.
· Economic Inequality: This could be the big hurdle and ultimately the reason why we are still decades away from true cashless society consideration. What about the millions of individuals who don’t have bank accounts? What about homeless people? This must be considered. Until there is a real fix for this dilemma, it doesn’t seem all that plausible.
Conclusion
While arguments could be made for both, it isn’t outlandish to think that in our lifetime we could see this happen. Look at the last year with COVID-19. Many businesses switched to cashless at the snap of a finger in an effort to limit the transmission of germs and the virus. Many businesses have reported that this transition has been a seamless one. A sign that we are indeed headed to the controversial cashless society. Thoughts?...
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