Money

[slapout9]

Nice interview with Dr. Michael Hudson on what the Bankers are up to.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3DsmGvVqiw&feature=sub

[slapout9]

Understanding Marx in 10 minutes or less.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e8rt8RGjCM

[davidbfpo]

A short article with a long title and given the spread of plastic money worth reading. The sub-title asks a question, which the writer IMHO fails to answer:

Governments would love to see the end of banknotes. But what would a cashless society mean for freedom?

Link:http://www.theguardian.com/commentis...ng-war-on-cash

Yes this thread has been reopened, it has 12k views.

[AmericanPride]

Is a war on cash a war on the poor?

From The Atlantic: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/...ny-fed/473436/

When alternative financial services like payday lenders and check-cashing stores—the equivalent of fast-food chains and convenience stores in this scenario—swoop into neighborhoods left behind by mainstream banks, residents pay a steep price to meet their financial needs: The average borrower spends over $500 a year in interest just on payday loans. Residents end up diverting money that could have otherwise been used to pay for irregular expenses or to build wealth, instead paying to use the basic financial products that they so desperately need to manage their financial lives. Because like convenience stores in food deserts that don’t sell nutritious food that promotes good physical health, alternative financial services don’t sell products that build long-term financial health.

Technology like mobile banking and fintech innovations help close the geographic distance between households and brick-and-mortar bank branches, thereby increasing access to basic financial products. Yet technology alone cannot repair the negative impact that bank branch closures have had on mortgages and small business lending. Simply put, brick-and-mortar bank branches still matter for accessing credit to build wealth. Without a bank branch in their community, households have limited access to safer and more affordable products, like a savings account that could be used to pay for irregular expenses, or to invest in the future. And, as the New York Fed’s study indicates, residents lose access to small business loans and mortgages when bank branches close, hindering the investment and entrepreneurship needed to drive local economic growth.

[slapout9]

Is a war on cash a war on the poor?

From The Atlantic: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/...ny-fed/473436/

I would say that it is. Where I live (just outside Montgomery) their are more payday lenders than fast food restaurants. The whole reason that the U S Postal service operated a bank for so long was to service the poor!

But Bill Clinton took care of that with some of his banking deregulations. Amazing how the Democrats got away with that and are still considered champions of the poor.

[davidbfpo]

By a financial writer in The Guardian and sub-titled:

Poor people and small businesses rely on cash. A contactless system will likely entrench poverty and pave the way for terrifying levels of surveillance

Link:http://www.theguardian.com/money/com...ld-contactless

[Firn]

Italy has certainly stepped up it's efforts to increase the share of digital transactions at the expense of cash transfers. To some extent I do actually support this move however in some areas we have gone in my humble opinion too far.

There have been already a good amount of input into the discussion but maybe it is worthwhile to add that cash provides key benefits at an expense to the taxpayers - not the agents of the specific transaction. You also don't need a credit score or a seal of approval to hold and use cash.

Maybe the poor are indeed hit harder by the push towards digital transactions, I take a look at some studies.