On Fri, 16 May 2008 13:26:19 GMT our moderator wrote, in a note to a post by snipped-for-privacy@hfDONTSENDMESPAMx.andara.com>:
[ ... ]
Let me put it this way: I have been at the bottom of the economic
> ladder a couple of times in my life, and I have seen first hand how
> businesses bring subtle pleasures to bear which make it clear that
> those less well off aren't welcome. Electronic transfer payments
> scare me because they are used by the middle and upper classes, and
> vendors who require electronic forms of payment may be doing so
> because they don't want to deal with lower-class customers.
In Oklahoma, and I assume on most states, food stamps and other public assistance are offered by electronic transfer only, the recicipent receiving a plastic device that looks about the same as a credit card, and I note most grocery stores, even those in upscale areas, have a terminal for these. (One of the points of contention in going to this method of payment was the selection of a single vendor to do the transactions and provide the cards, requiring merchants to have that vendor's dedicated terminals (card reader) to take such payments.)
Wes Leatherock snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com snipped-for-privacy@aol.com