Vaհe H Apelian
I do not live in Armenia. My last visit to Armenia was a decade ago. But I follow news coming from Armenia and about Armenia. Yesterday, while responding to reporters’ questions, the PM Nikol Pashinyan noted that he will be on vacation in Armenia, but will be available to attend to his duties, should the need arise. Today he posted about visiting museums and also alluded to ՀԴՄ, which is the Armenian acronym for Cash Register Receipt. In Armenian, Հսկիչ-դրամարկղային մեքենայի կտրոն. While mandating receipts is not a prelude for a cashless society, but it is for stricter fiscal accountability.
A few days ago, a friend posted on her Facebook page, not about cash register receipts, but about the perils of a cashless society, here in the United States of America. She wrote, “A cashless society means no cash. Zero. It doesn’t mean mostly cashless and you can still use a ‘wee bit of cash here & there’. Cashless means fully digital, fully traceable, fully controlled. I think those who support a cashless society aren’t fully aware of what they are asking for. A cashless society means:…..”. You may read below.
The notion of cashless society took me back a few decades. I was a new comer, when I heard a debate on television where an IRS agent said that they have the means of converting the society into a cashless society. I was petrified hearing that because where I came from, Lebanon, at that time, an everyday citizen having an account in a bank, did not exist. But,I also realize that, to a great extent, we have become a cashless society.
Nowadays we do most of our payments electronically. A few weeks ago, I saw a Girl Scouts counter next to a store I was attending, selling cookies. I told them, ‘Folks, I am sorry but I will not be purchasing cookie, I do not have cash with me'. One of the ladies attending to young girl scouts, said, no problem, we accept credit card, and for the very first time, I purchased girl scout’s cookie with my credit card.
Yes, come to think of it; in America we have for all practical purposes, become a cashless society. Should you be at an Olive Garden restaurant, you will find an electronic gadget on the table for payment. When was the last time you paid for your meal in a restaurant with the green bucks? By the way I learned recently the term "buck" for money originated in the 18th-century American frontier, when deer hides (buckskins) were a highly valued and common medium of exchange. Traders and pioneers frequently evaluated goods in terms of how many "bucks" they were worth
Naturally a cashless society offers many advantages. The greatest challenge in a cashless society is the temptation to overspend and run into debt. I imagine that in countries were cashless transitions are not as available, one simply would not be able to buy a loaf bread if the person does not have the money at that moment, in its pocket.
Is Armenia fast heading towards a cashless society? Unlike, America, where the transition into a practically a cashless society came about after decades dealing not in cash but in credit, on the understanding the person will pay in time with interest. I imagine the change into a more accountable purchasing and into cashless dealings, such as purchasing a car, are relatively new in Armenia that a mere 35 years ago was under centralized planning.
I can imagine the pace of change in Armenia is innerving.
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Food for thought folks….
HERE'S WHAT NO CASH ACTUALLY MEANS:
A cashless society means no cash. Zero. It doesn’t mean mostly cashless and you can still use a ‘wee bit of cash here & there’. Cashless means fully digital, fully traceable, fully controlled. I think those who support a cashless society aren’t fully aware of what they are asking for. A cashless society means:
* If you are struggling with your mortgage on a particular month, you can’t do an odd job to get you through.
* Your child can’t go & help the local farmer to earn a bit of summer cash.
* No more cash slipped into the hands of a child as a good luck charm or from their grandparent when going on holidays.
* No more money in birthday cards.
* No more piggy banks for your child to collect pocket money & to learn about the value of earning.
* No more cash for a rainy-day fund or for that something special you have been putting $20 a week away for.
* No more little jobs on the side because your wages barely cover the bills or put food on the table.
* No more charity collections.
* No more selling bits & pieces from your home that you no longer want/need for a bit of cash in return.
* No more cash gifts from relatives or loved ones.
What a cashless society does guarantee:
* Banks have full control of every single penny you own.
* Every transaction you make is recorded.
* All your movements & actions are traceable.
* Access to your money can be blocked at the click of a button when/if banks need ‘clarification’ from you which will take about 3 weeks, a thousand questions answered & five thousand passwords.
* You will have no choice but to declare & be taxed on every dollar in your possession.
* The government WILL decide what you can & cannot purchase.
* If your transactions are deemed in any way questionable, by those who create the questions, your money will be frozen, ‘for your own good’.
Forget about cash being dirty. Stop being so easily led. Cash has been around for a very, very, very long time & it gives you control over how you trade with the world. It gives you independence.
If you are a customer, pay with cash. If you are a shop owner, remove those ridiculous signs that ask people to pay by card. Cash is a legal tender, it is our right to pay with cash. Banks are making it increasingly difficult to lodge cash.
Please open your eyes. Please stop believing everything you are being told. Almost every single topic in today’s world is tainted with corruption & hidden agendas.
Pay with cash & please say no to a cashless society while you still have the choice.
Copy and paste to your page if you like! Posted from a friend…. I agree
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