America: Cashless Society

Many people believe that eventually, and sometime in the not so distant future, no one will carry cash in their pockets, and everything will be purchased using plastic. Others think that will happen around the same time that people start driving around in space cars, or when we have domesticated robot maids to clean our homes and make our meals. Whether it becomes a reality or not, it’s quite possible to live almost cashless in our current society!

Think about it. When you get gas, almost every gas station has a pay at the pump option. Grocery stores, department stores and almost anyplace where there is a cash register can accept credit or debit cards, and you can even pay your waiters a tip from your card when dining at the restaurant. Fast food and drive through windows are even accepting debit or credit cards, now! So, if a person truly wanted to stop carrying cash all together, it would just about be possible by using debit cards, prepaid credit cards or regular credit cards to handle all of your financial transactions.

As with any choice there are advantages associated with going “cashless” or not, as well as disadvantages. Using cash requires an in person transaction. You shouldn’t mail cash through the postal service, as it’s very easily stolen, and you are unable to purchase online using cash. Cash however, helps maintain anonymity when you buy items or pay for services, where as a credit card reveals information about you to the vendors that you may not want them to have. Privacy is a concern, and using plastic means there is a chance for fraud or identity theft.

A problem many people have with credit cards is over spending. It’s very easy to spend more than what your budget allows when you aren’t counting out the actual cash and seeing the hard earned money leave your hands. The “I’ll pay it later” is much easier than saving money for that expensive purchase, and most of the time, something comes up that prevents us from paying it completely when “later” actually arrives. When using plastic for purchases, however, you are less likely to drop your card on the floor while pulling out one of your other credit cards like what often happens with cash. Have you ever stood behind someone in the grocery store line, and as they’re reaching in their wallet or purse for a $20, another couple of bills happens to fall out? Losing cash means it’s gone forever (unless some really nice soul sees it happen and gives it back to you!) but you do have some additional security when your credit cards are stolen.

The biggest disadvantage of going cashless is the amount of interest you’ll pay when you don’t pay off your balances at the end of each month. It may be extremely convenient to swipe your card everywhere you go, but when your statement comes you better hope you have enough to cover it or else each of your purchases are going to cost you well more than the price tag indicated!

Deciding whether to carry cash or go “cashless” is a personal decision for now, as we still have the ability to use both. It’s hard to say whether or not we will ever be forced to use only plastic, but you can bet if the credit card companies have their way we will become a cashless society! Until then, become familiar with the advantages and disadvantages of each option, and decide which will work for your personal financial habits and discipline.

With the arrival of easily accessible credit cards, debit cards and Internet banking, today’s world is often referred to as being a "cashless society". These technological arrivals have led to a dramatic change in the way that businesses and people operate. In some instances, we can argue that our cashless society has resulted in a steady decline in the occurrence of human interaction. This author believes that In some cases, we should go back to the old ways of buying our goods with paper money or the old art of providing written cheques.

The concept of using ‘real’ money or cheque writing is often not a popular one with many people. We cannot deny that the arrival of this new and exciting technology has increased the ease of how people operate and perform business. It has eradicated the need to physically write your name or long winded explanations of what the finance is required for.

Technology has allowed for all of this information to be transferred electronically via the specific information that is encoded in an individuals debit or credit card. This new technology although in some cases is beneficial, can sometimes lead to forms of individual isolation within our inter communication, business and financial operations. Financial and personal affairs begin to become depersonalized and individuals can become labeled and known as a number. Some people could argue that this is beneficial as it ensures that our dealings continue to move at a sustainable pace.

Today’s world places its importance on the provision of convenience and instant satisfaction. We can see that this is evident with the invention of frozen dinners and meal replacement beverages. We now have mobile phones which double as organizers, alarm clocks, cameras, mp3 players and as a way to easily access our emails and the Internet. Many people argue that society needs to be time savvy if it wants to successfully achieve its ambitions. In some instances this author agrees with this. New technology has resulted in many seeing the art of filling in a cheque as a time consuming affair that should be avoided at all costs. Many would prefer to have very little or even nothing to do with the entire process of writing a cheque. These individuals see cheque writing as a distinct and unnecessary form of art. These people have chosen for the option of cheque writing to be removed from their financial options. They see cheque writing as a form of old technology and a way financing in the past. Writing cheques, we say, has no place in our future and will be left behind with our distant memories of items like records, cassette tapes and roller skates.

The creativity involved in writing a cheque will never fail for some people in today’s world. But for others, their interests lie in convenience and time management, perhaps this is correctly so, and other instruments to pay for items and obtain finances over ride the old art form of writing a cheque.

The idea of a paperless society has been the dream of computer enthusiasts for many years. Along with the “cashless society”, the hope that computers would replace the written word has resonated through sections of American society for many years. Although home computer usage has grown incredibly in the last 15 years making this seemingly possible in the near future, government agencies are slow to catch up. Libraries will have shelves of books for many years too come.

With home computer and Internet usage at an all time high it is no surprise that public libraries are struggling to make ends meet. Research that would have in the past required the use of a library can now be done much faster using a home PC and a few hours on Google. Couple this with the fact that library computers are generally out of date and over crowded, home research becomes the obvious choice. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in association with the American Library Association (ALA) recently funded a study that shows the demand for computer and Internet services has stretched existing library resources to capacity. The study also shows that “more than 73% of libraries reported that they are the only source of free public access to computers and the Internet on their communities”. Although there is clearly great demand for these resources, there is little growth ahead. During peak usage hours it is not uncommon in some communities to have an hour wait time for computer access, and only 25% of all libraries report they have the computers to meet demand according to the ALA. Most libraries have not had a substantial increase in computers or technology since 2002.

This lack of technology is doing the most harm to the poor. Americans who have home computers and a fast Internet connection may not realize that large portions of society are cut off from the potential this technology can bring. Many Americans are now at the point where they could not imagine not being able to access the Internet, and the knowledge that would be denied is enormous. As a bastion of knowledge it has fallen to libraries to upgrade their capabilities and help more people access the information they need.

Cost is an issue in upgrading the existing public library technology infrastructure. Tax revenue is still the primary method of funding public libraries, but local government taxes have not been enough for a long time. It has become necessary to increase fines associated with library use and solicit donations in order to make ends meet and provide information services to patrons in need of a computer. Even using older refurbished laptops and desktops that have been donated or purchased has not offered enough saving to allow libraries to catch up to demand.

A new method of cutting costs and reducing computer wait time is wireless networking. By using wireless and Satellite Internet more than 17% of libraries claim they can reduce wait time by becoming a “Wireless Hot Spot” and allowing patrons to access the Internet from their own laptops as well as the library’s. This solution also solves many bandwidth issues libraries are having, but not all. Considering that some libraries still use dial-up Internet access any improvement in this area would be helpful.

America must implement a policy on Election Reform that is equitable and fair to everyone. It is something we must do if we are to be a progressive society, a society for everyone, rich or poor. We, the people of the United States of America, must take back control of our lives by taking back control of our government. And the only way we can do that - be a government by the people - is with a logical Election Reform Bill. It is past due because our elected officials are thinking only of their careers and their futures. As our representatives, the only thing they should be thinking about is doing what is right for the American people who are their employers.

America must make radical changes in order to change and move forward, bettering our society.

We must elect a president who is willing to put forth to the American people and Congress a constitutional amendment to lower the voting age to sixteen. Teenage crime has risen over the last four decades because America's youth feel alienated. They either feel apathetic about their future, or they fear it. Consequently, and sadly for them and society, today's teenagers enter adulthood with a defeatist attitude. They have no hope because they have no say in their own future. It is time to give them their say; it is time to give them the responsibility of helping shape their future.

With the information highway, and cable television, our children are more intelligent and more worldly than children of similar ages were in any time in history. We need to treat our teenagers as young adults. Our forefathers said that taxation without representation is tyranny. America must abide by its own laws. If an American sixteen or older earns a salary and pays taxes, then he or she must have a say in electing their representatives.

We must also have a president who is willing to put forth to America a constitutional amendment to restructure Congress. All terms of office should be for four years. The U. S. Senate should go from six-year terms to four, and the House of Representatives should go from two-year terms to four. Six years is too long for our senators to go without being accounted for by the people who put them in office. Two-year terms in the House are unfeasible in that representatives must spend most of their time away from Washington raising funds for their next campaign. It is more efficient to have four-year terms for all the people's representatives, with no term limitations. This includes the most important representative of the people, the president. It is the people's right to elect whoever they want for as long as they want. A government by the people. If an elected official is doing an exemplary job, we should keep them there to continue that fine work. No one, not even our government, should be able to take away that inalienable right from us.

Implementing a campaign tax in the amount of $20 for every adult and dependent, which would be matched by the federal government, would take away the power of the special interest groups and their lobbyists. A family of four would pay $80 a year. Based on a population of approximately 250 million taxable Americans, it would mean $40 billion every four years for the approximately 2,500 incumbents and challengers who run for president, U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, and governors. No candidate could spend any more than the amount they receive. Equal amounts for each office. The presidential candidates would receive the most, then those running for U.S. Senate, and so forth down the line. Political campaigns have become a contest of who can raise the most money. It has become a contest of who can purchase the most advertising. That is not fair to the American voting public. Wealth should have nothing to do with a political campaign. Equal time is the most equitable way to hear what our candidates have to say about what they will do for America.

Shortly after the end of the election, their accountants would have to make public all monies spent. This plan would stop candidates from outspending their opponent, from spending one week of each month traveling to raise funds for their next campaign, from taking PACs, and from granting favors. Most of all, it would ensure honest voting in Congress; votes that represent the opinions and beliefs of each politician's constituency.

In return for this free funding by the people and the government, our elected leaders would have to spend a minimum of four days every month in town meetings hearing the peoples' views on forthcoming bills. The American people must be heard, and they must be represented. That was the philosophy of our forefathers, of a democratic government, a government upon which this nation was built.

To keep campaigns on a respectable level, candidates can only advertise what they will do for the country (if elected) and how. Any negative campaigning should reduce their funding by ten percent. The American people have had enough of the lies and deceit. Negative campaigning is why only 50% of our country votes. It is one of many reasons why America's politicians are looked upon as demagogues, with one purpose in running for office: To gain as much power as possible.

It is about time our politicians represent us instead of their own interests and pockets. It is about time America's voice returned to Washington, D.C. Politicians have turned our society aggressive, hostile, angry, and cynical. Taking control of our elected leaders means taking control of society, which means taking control of our lives and our future. Although it means a small amount of money out of our own pockets, America must rally behind it.

Regarding the infamous Electoral College, the president must be elected by the people. We cannot allow what happened in 2000 to happen again. It proves that the American vote is irrelevant, and it will only lessen the amount of people who vote, and make our country more and more distrustful of government. A constitutional amendment abolishing the Electoral College, allowing the popular vote to elect our president is essential in order for the people to legally have their say.

All votes will elect our leaders and they will run an above board campaign and serve the people in an honest, communicative, and dutiful way! This will be our legacy to our children and to America's future.

In order to build a stronger, more self-sufficient America, America must first be willing to change. To build a progressive and competitive society, America's most important challenge is to change its antiquated educational system. In every political administration, education must be first and foremost. Without a strong and revitalized educational system, America will never progress to greatness nor be able to alleviate any of our other ills.

The three R's - reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic - is how our children have been taught since the beginning of time. But we're now in the twenty-first century, and we have a responsibility to our children, to America's future, to educate tomorrow's leaders and teach future generations the skills they need so they can survive in a world that is becoming increasingly more difficult to survive in.

Today's youth are not like yesteryear's innocents. There are no more shows like Leave It To Beaver or Father Knows Best. Instead, we have accepted the censors lack of discretion where our children (and adults) are concerned by inundating the airwaves with swear words never before heard on television. It has become part of our children's language, and school teachers cannot do anything about it because the media has dictated that freedom of speech, of any speech, is the accepted norm, the right of all Americans, no matter their age. How could it be bad, many ask? They hear it everyday on TV. If it was bad, it wouldn't be allowed into our living room. The news programs have become more graphic, verbally and visually, educating our children more in the ways of adult themes and topics, like never before. And our morals have changed for the worse as our children are taught that their sexuality begins at an earlier age, and it is an important and exciting part of their lives.

Today, our children's rite of passage precedes their concept of right or wrong. Along with that open education, computers and the information highway, our children are more intelligent, more worldly, and older than children of similar ages were decades ago. Since we can't go back in time, although many adults wish we could, we need to treat our children as the young adults they have been forced to become.

Consequently, America has to drastically reinvent its schools. Teacher tenure should be abolished in that this reward is irresponsible to the family and the consumer. If someone is doing an inadequate job then that employee should be monitored, and, if need be, replaced. No contract, like the rest of America's workplace, should be lifetime. This would ensure quality education.

America must do away with the law that its children can quit school at sixteen. All children must stay in school until graduation; if not public, then in vo-tech schools learning a trade. The excuse that a child must go to work at sixteen to help support their family does irreparable damage to the future of the child being forced to be his family's provider. Staying in school until graduation will break the chain of poverty, and, with it, crime and welfare will greatly diminish.

The school day must be longer. America is in last place in first world education. There is no reason why the school day must only be (approximately) six hours long. By increasing lunch by ten minutes (so our children don't have to wolf down their food), and by adding another five minutes for passing to one extra class, and forty-five-minutes for that class, our school day will be only one-hour longer. This would make a big difference in the quantity of education our children receive.

But, it's quality we must have for our children to rise to their true potential. To achieve that goal, American schools must incorporate into their present curriculum new Life Studies courses to prepare our children for the world in which they are becoming an integral part. Within partnership with the fifty state universities and state public education commissioners, along with noted educational psychologists and sociologists, a Master of Science Degree should be offered in part scholarship to already certified teachers.

American schools must add these Life Study courses and stay open an hour longer each day if America wants to be a competitive force in the twenty-first century.

This Education Reinvention Bill would help working parents, especially single mothers, in that their child will be in school an hour longer everyday, costing them less in day care, thus receiving more in salary to help the family, therefore more taxes paid to the government on salaries and durable goods. This is financially greater than the tax refund that has been gratuitously given to America's middle class.

On the elementary level, classes in creative writing, confidence and self-esteem, manners and etiquette, ecology and the environment, safety, and the new 3R's (respect, responsibility, and reward) would be added to the yearly curriculum; one course for each grade level.

On the intermediate level, students would be required to take yearly courses in money management, interpersonal communications, and social awareness (which would include a cooperative commitment in volunteerism).

High school students would study one course in each of their eight semesters in career development, comparative cultures and religions, philosophy, ethics and morality, analytical and deductive reasoning, persuasive speaking, colleges, and parenthood.

The cost of educating these teachers and creating jobs for them in every public school sector would be repaid when the first graduating class enters mainstream America. With mandatory student graduation, the cost for this new educational system will be repaid with the money saved on law enforcement and a consistently reduced welfare system, along with more people in the work place paying taxes and generating money in American commerce.

The Education Reinvention Bill is not just imperative for our children's success, but for our country's survival. There is a lot America must do to change for the better and again be a respected force in today's world. Education reform is just one of many ways we can accomplish that goal.

It is also the most important one.

The western world is advancing at such a rate now that it seems almost inevitable that we are slowly heading towards a cashless society. You only have to go outside and go about your daily life to see how fast technology is advancing.

Take London as an example. They're actively encouraging people not to carry cash around with them with recent initiatives they've introduced.

First of all they issued Oyster cards, which people can use to pay for London's bus and tube networks, and just recently the Evening Standard made it possible for customers to pay for their newspaper via a cashless payment card.

Now I hear that they're considering making it possible to pay for parking in the city via mobile phone rather than parking meters so this is yet another reason for people not to carry cash around with them.

If this spreads to the rest of the UK, and if other countries adopt similar initiatives, then it's surely only a matter of time before the whole of the western world uses technology in the form of prepaid payment cards to make cash obsolete.

The only reason we need cash at the moment is to pay for those small items from retail stores, but the technology is clearly there to make payment cards fit for this purpose, and I think pretty soon it will become the norm to pay for everyday goods via some kind of payment card.

Furthermore the fact that more and more people have mobile phones and access to the internet means that people could quite easily make payments to a payment card via these means. Therefore they would just need to transfer money electronically to their card so they can use it on the high street.

Of course the major downside is that we are heading closer towards the Orwellian world of 1984 and Big Brother where the government knows exactly what you are doing as they can track all your activities electronically.

However as long as you're not engaging in any criminal activity then I don't think there's any major cause for concern, although I'm sure the conspiracy theorists won't agree.

Ultimately you can't stop advancing technologies and no matter how much you dislike mobile phones, the internet, and the Big Brother world we are becoming, it's surely now only a matter of years before we become a cashless society where digital money replaces physical money.

New France was the French colony organized in the North America. The first French foundation – Quebec – was established in 1603. The French society was concentrated on the fur trade and Catholic missions. The Spanish and the French understood the importance of the maintenance of friendly relations with the Native Americans and it became their major priority. In his ‘The People of New France’ Allan Greer describes the growth and development of the French colony in Canada. His book is a deep look into the social life of New France that occupied a large territory of the North American continent. French colonial society was developing rapidly owing to the fur trade with the Native Americans. The French regime allowed woman in the status of a wife to be an equal owner of the family property along with her husband. The similar law was present in New Spain where women had the same amount of rights. Another common feature was that the Spanish as well as the French wanted to find gold and silver in America, to trade with the Native Americans and to convert them to their religion.
Despite its growth French Canada became an obstacle for English government to establish its colonies in the North America. England started the colonization of America in 1607 having established its first colony in Jamestown. England sent many people to America – more than 400,000 in the 17th century. Besides, the English established constant agricultural settlements and converted Native Americans to their religion. New England society was more secularized and increasingly overpopulated than the Spanish and the French societies. The English society was based on family farms and land that was inherited by relatives.
In his book ‘American Colonies: The Settling of North America’ Alan Taylor describes many cultures and societies that formed America. He stresses the significance of the Native Americans, African slaves, who worked on the plantations, and the contribution of the Spanish, French and English colonizers to the development and growth of the USA society. The author tries to be objective in his description of the English colonial society emphasizing that the British and especially their spawn the Americans dedicated their governments to promoting commerce. Taylor depicts the mixture of nations and the interlay of freedom and slavery in the colonized America, as well as the movement toward colonial independence displayed by the English in New England. Thus, the Spanish, English and French created unique colonial societies in the Americas. Although each society had its own features, all of them had similar features in the organization, development and growth of trade, silver and gold mines, agriculture and communication with Native Americans.

The notion of a cashless society has been around for quite some time. The first mechanical cash dispenser was built by Luther George Simjian in 1939 and was installed in New York in 1939. However lack of customer adoption resulted in it being removed six months later.

The electronic cash machines we know today were invented a quarter-of-a-century later by Hampshire printing firm, De La Rue; the same company behind high-security paper and printing technologies used in the printing of bank notes. Actor Reg Varney from the popular 1960s TV sit-com ‘On The Buses’ was the first person to use the new cash machine, which was seen to be a strong guerrilla marketing tactic and designed to ensure public adoption of the electronic cash dispenser. As a result, the cashless society was born.

In recent times, the number of cashless alternatives has continued to grow. No longer confined to banks or building societies, cash machines can now be found everywhere; from petrol stations to pubs and there are also more credit and debit card options available than ever before. Furthermore, transactions such as salary payments and direct debits are performed by BACS (Banks automated clearing system), while e-commerce has gained almost worldwide acceptance.

In March 2000, ‘Confinity’, a palm-pilot payment and cryptography company merged with X.com, an Internet financial services company. This merger created the online payment service, PayPal, which was well-received by internet users, with its members being rewarded with $5 for every new member they referred. Before long, Paypal was adopted as the preferred payment method for the online auction site, eBay. Today PayPal boasts in excess of 123 million accounts and operates in 55 different markets, including China.

With such widespread adoption, PayPal can now be used to buy a wide variety of goods and services. Not only can it be used to buy and sell goods on eBay, but PayPal can also be used to reserve a hotel room online. In fact, some of the UK's leading tour operators have started accepting PayPal transactions via their website. Google are also planning to launch Google Checkout, an online payment service which will further contribute towards the notion of a cashless society.

Nowadays, even teenagers are being targeted towards a cashless society, with a major credit card firm recently launching a prepayment card aimed at children. Although these cards are limited by the amount that their parents deposit onto the card, the scheme has seen a number of concerns raised by the National Consumer Council, who have warned that the cards will get children so used to spending money that isn’t theirs, they will find themselves hopelessly in debt once they are old enough to apply for a credit card. However, supporters of the scheme believe that the cards will familiarize children with using plastic to pay for purchases without spending too much.

It seems that a truly cashless society is inevitable. With recent technological innovations allowing for online banking, bill payments and money transfers, the notion of a cashless society seems to be closer than ever. However, as technology continues to evolve, peoples’ perceptions of a cashless society are getting closer to reality. Some people fear that a cashless society might have a detrimental effect on many of today’s civil liberties that we currently enjoy. For most people though, the advance towards a cashless society is wholeheartedly embraced.