Cash Means Freedom, Which Is Why So Many Officials Hate It: New at Reason

Add the war on cash to the list of statist campaigns.

J.D. Tuccille writes:

Cash—the familiar, anonymous paper money and metallic coins that most of us grew up using—isn’t just convenient, it’s also a powerful shield for our autonomy and our privacy. That’s the argument of cash advocates of course—but also of those economists and government officials who want to abolish the stuff. Cash’s power to protect people from meddling and tracking motivates both parties, either to shore up our defenses against the state, or to squish them under their thumbs.

And yes, you need to follow this debate. That’s because the elimination of physical cash isn’t some hypothetical possibility for the distant future; it’s a goal actively sought by many international movers and shakers, and one that’s nearing fruition in several countries.

Arguing that cash “facilitates crime” and “is also deeply implicated in tax evasion” Harvard University’s Kenneth S. Rogoff, former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, favors”moving to a society where cash is used less frequently and mainly for small transactions.”

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