The global cashless movement meets its foe: Local government
More Americans are ditching paper money, but critics of cashless restaurants and shops say many people are being left behind.
This isn't "telecom" at first glance, but there are two things that worry me about this story:
- It doesn't make sense: there's a something missing that I can't figure out. Local governments don't act the way that this story implies, at least in my experience.
- "Smart" phones are being drafted to substitute for credit cards, and those portable computers are unavailable to most of the homeless, to many lower-income families, and to undocumented person afraid of being tracked. That's being given as the reason for local government's concern - but it doesn't make sense. I've never known a small businessman who wouldn't prefer cash over EFT, and local store owners know their Councilman's home phone number.
It doesn't pass the smell test.
Bill Horne Moderator