Below the Fold - the cost of going cashless

View this email in your browser

Today’s summaries save you 52 minutes of news reading!

Happy Friday, Below the Fold!

While we dealt with storms these past couple of weeks in California and watched the destruction of the earthquake in Turkey (which is prompting a mandatory retrofit order in LA), we couldn’t help but think about emergency preparedness. Recommendations for an emergency supply kit on Ready.gov include cash, but how many of us have that anymore? And is it bad that we won’t?

Keeping Cash Is Key to Keeping Freedom
Fri Feb 17

In many countries, you’re likely paying for things with a credit card, allowing you to accrue mileage, credit card points, and enjoy the convenience and safety of not carrying cash. But what if cash were no longer an option at all? What’s the cost of going cashless?

In a cashless society, the banking and tech elite are in control. Transactions and accounts can be made and frozen at their say so. Not only does this put everyone at their mercy, it means huge data trails will exist for any individual and that is a big boon to surveillance. But even if we trust our institutions and corporations to act in our best interest, a cashless society also means we won’t have a backup option in times of crisis whether that’s a natural disaster, power outage, or cyberattack.

Even so, the incredible ease, safety, and efficiency of digital transactions has moved many of us towards a cashless future. Some countries are fully embracing this, such as Nigeria (which is in a cash crisis fueling Bitcoin adoption). In fact, more than half the world’s central banks are exploring or developing a digital currency. But simultaneously, some are passing legislation to protect against a totally cashless future.

The Swiss will hold a referendum on whether cash should always be in circulation at some minimum level. Others such as the UK and Ireland have passed laws that ensure access to cash. In the US, some states have moved to ensure stores and restaurants will always accept cash payments, which they say helps small business, low income communities, and the undocumented. Ultimately, researchers see a viable future where a low level of cash continues to circulate while the majority of transactions become digital.

BELOW THE FOLD BYTES

Social Exclusion and Shame Linked to Support for Authoritarianism

Poverty is often linked to support for authoritarianism (blind submission to strict authority as opposed to autonomy) but what is it about poverty that makes someone more receptive to authoritarianism? Researchers in Germany answered that question through three experiments which tested for shame, stress, and anxiety. Researchers found that shame consistently came out as a top link to subsequent feelings of support for authoritarianism. The researchers argue that authoritarianism might provide a sense of oneness and sameness to the poor who may feel socially excluded. It also might diffuse personal responsibility (and shame) for their poverty while a “strong” authoritarian leader shelters them from their powerlessness.

>> Read More

Ozone Layer on Track for Recovery by 2066

In the midst of all the problems, isn’t it nice to have some good news about the environment? It looks like our ozone layer is on track to recover to its pre-1980s level by 2066. This is a big cause for celebration because it has taken an enormous effort that began in 1987 with the adoption of the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty to protect our ozone layer. Because of swift and global action in phasing out ozone-depleting chemicals (99% has been phased out since the treaty), we’ve managed to avoid this particular planetary crisis. And, as a reminder, the ozone layer is what protects all life from the sun’s harmful radiation, including cancer-causing UVB rays.

>> Read More

🎬 Action of the Week

While a digital economy has many benefits, the individual freedom and security of physical cash makes it easy to see why at least some cash needs to stick around and why being able to use it is important. To learn more about why a completely cashless system is problematic and what you can do about it, check out this ACLU article.

THIS WEEK'S SOURCES

Bloomberg:

Swiss May Enshrine Status of Cash
2 minutes long | 2 weeks ago

Reuters:

Swiss to Vote to Prevent Cashless Society
2 minutes long | 2 weeks ago

Coda Story:

Banking & Tech Elite Control
7 minutes long | 3 weeks ago

The Irish Times:

Legally Protected Access to Cash
4 minutes long | 3 months ago

CashEssentials:

Protecting Access to Cash
4 minutes long | 3 months ago

NPR:

Cities & States Say No to Cashless Shops
4 minutes long | 5 weeks ago

IMF:

Over Half of World’s Banks Exploring Digital Currencies
2 minutes long | 6 months ago

McKinsey & Company:

Benefits of Central Bank Digital Currencies
9 minutes long | 2 days ago

TU Delft:

A Sustainable Future of Cash
6 minutes long | 4 years ago

Forbes:

Nigerians Turn to Bitcoin In Cash Crisis
12 minutes long | 2 days ago

CLASSIFIEDS

Only 15% of journalists are women and less than 5% of coverage is on female athletes and non-binary folks.

The GIST is changing that with a forever-free sports newsletter written by and for sports fans who don’t fit (or maybe don’t want to fit) the traditional avid sports fan mold.

They're reinventing the dialogue around sports to provide equal coverage to women's and men's sports with fun, digestible content that's fan-first. Join their 1 million strong community today!

Sign Up Now >>

ASCII-ING ABOUT THE NEWS

                   ____
                  (_  _)
        .  .       / /
     .`_._'_..    / /
     \   o   /   / /
  Pru \ /   /  _/ /_
`. ~. `\___/'./~.' /.~'`.
.`'`.`.'`'`.~.`'~.`'`.~`

Here's to a future full of beach days under a healthy ozone!

Art Credit: asciiart.eu

Share

Forward to Friend

Below the Fold

2261 Market St # 4135

San Francisco, CA 94114-1612

Add us to your address book

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Below the Fold - the cost of going cashless

Social Exclusion and Shame Linked to Support for Authoritarianism

Ozone Layer on Track for Recovery by 2066

🎬 Action of the Week

Older messages

going back to our farming roots

new battle: forest v solar panel

goodbye to $2 million coin tosses

I'm rubber and you're moo

dam toxic

You Might Also Like

10 Things That Delighted Us Last Week: From Seafoam-Green Tights to June Squibb’s Laundry Basket

🥣 Cereal Of The Damned 😈

The Sunday — March 9

☕ Chance of clouds

Federal Leakers, Egg Investigations, and the Toughest Tongue Twister

Strategic Bitcoin Reserve And Digital Asset Stockpile | White House Crypto Summit

Researchers rally for science in Seattle | Rad Power Bikes CEO departs

Survived Current

Daylight saving time can undermine your health and productivity

I Designed the Levi’s Ribcage Jeans