Cashless Society

[admin]

Happening in China. They are leapfrogging us and gaining competitive advantage.

I don’t like it…. but that’s the future.

[ocrenter]

Brian, guess who is collecting data on all of the purchases?

Next thing you are going to push is for all of us to get on WeChat.

[ucodegen]

Every transaction has a fee attached.. like credit and debit cards. In the U.S. that fee varies between 1% and 3% – note that I am not talking about interest charges. It looks like Google/Android is forgoing such fees though.

NOTE: These ‘advances’ are not for the benefit of the people. China also banned crypto-currencies.

Note on WeChat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjkWpvOQnWQ
and on privacy: http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2015/01/06/tencent_s_wechat_worldwide_internet_users_are_voluntarily_submitting_to.html

Technology, while nice, can be a double edge sword

[FlyerInHi]

[quote=ocrenter]Next thing you are going to push is for all of us to get on WeChat.[/quote]

OMG I have too many apps, wechat, line, kakao….

I think facebook overpaid for WhatsApp. We’ll see what they make of it.

[spdrun]

They’re not leapfrogging us — they’re screwing their own people into accepting a prison society. With the authoritarian instincts in the US and our nasty habit of mass incarceration, no thanks to more surveillance.

This is also happening mostly in large Chinese cities. Rural areas/smaller cities are slower to adopt. Maybe we should thank G-d (haha) for the rural, armed Bible-thumping “mark of the beast” crowd in the US, who’d literally start a holy war if the government tried to force a cashless society.

[ucodegen]

[quote=spdrun]Maybe we should thank G-d (haha) for the rural, armed Bible-thumping “mark of the beast” crowd in the US, who’d literally start a holy war if the government tried to force a cashless society.[/quote]

or for a national id card/chip/implant/mark of the beast…

[FlyerInHi]

We will see spdrun.
Some people think I’m a China sycophant. But not at all. I just worry that we are not keeping up. While we worry about Muslims, China is inventing new things.
While we are satisfied that we are the greatest, they are learning and becoming high tech and making money.

You want to stay the greatest, don’t you? You want to stay the richest?

[ocrenter]

[quote=FlyerInHi]We will see spdrun.
Some people think I’m a China sycophant. But not at all. I just worry that we are not keeping up. While we worry about Muslims, China is inventing new things.
While we are satisfied that we are the greatest, they are learning and becoming high tech and making money.

You want to stay the greatest, don’t you? You want to stay the richest?[/quote]

it is human nature to be complacent and arrogant on the top. This is why the underdog often come up ahead, and it is often the guy trailing throughout the entire race that edges ahead and wins the race.

China is case in point. It was so arrogant and complacent of its mighty status that all others were viewed as mere barbarians. that mentality was the reason why it was unable to reform and implement Western thoughts and innovations but Japan (the guy running that distant 2nd in the East Asian world) was able to and turn around and launch a full on assault of China.

I see the US doing much of the same. Huge number of Americans are extremely ignorant of the rest of the world, and lack the most fundamental understanding of the competition out there. I do wish the average Americans can have half of the knowledge base Brian has.

The saving grace for America is ultimately the immigrants. Immigrants from the 40-50’s (Jews and Eastern Europeans), immigrants from the 60-70’s (Persians and Vietnamese and Cubans), immigrants from the 80’s (Koreans, Taiwanese), immigrants in the 90’s to now (Chinese, Indian, Arab), and ultimately the steady flow of immigrants from Mexico and other Latin Americans throughout the entire last century. Has it not been for this continuous influx of the world’s best and brightest, America would have already started its decline several decades prior. Because it has been the immigrants propping up this country, no wonder White America feel they are being “discriminated.”

[spdrun]

You want to stay the greatest, don’t you? You want to stay the richest?

No. Greatness is subjective.

Wealth? I want to be comfortable and relatively free.

I’m not competitive in the sense that my country has to be at the top of the pile.

I’d take less wealth for more freedom and less control.

[FlyerInHi]

[quote=spdrun]

You want to stay the greatest, don’t you? You want to stay the richest?

No. Greatness is subjective.

Wealth? I want to be comfortable and relatively free.

I’m not competitive in the sense that my country has to be at the top of the pile.

I’d take less wealth for more freedom and less control.[/quote]

How will the president be able claim that we are the richest, most powerful country the world has ever seen? You know, the kind of feel good hyperbole people like to hear.

Soon, we will no longer be the richest in total and not even the richest per capita.

China’s urban areas are bigger than the whole of the USA. Some Asian tourists have told me that the USA is low tech; people live in isolated wood bungalows that could belong in the country. It hurt my American Pride a little bit.

[scaredyclassic]

i cant think of literally anything i dont buy with a credit card.

even my 2.00 double espresso.

it would COST me a lot of money to transact in cash. i spend maybe 35k a year on the 2% back card, so id be losing 700.00 by carrying cash.

still, i carry $100 for old times sake.

the only thing people will need cash for is legal weed, yard sales, and panhandlers.

[The-Shoveler]

Private party Used Cars.

[ocrenter]

[quote=spdrun]

You want to stay the greatest, don’t you? You want to stay the richest?

No. Greatness is subjective.

Wealth? I want to be comfortable and relatively free.

I’m not competitive in the sense that my country has to be at the top of the pile.

I’d take less wealth for more freedom and less control.[/quote]

China will not be great if it doesn’t make the next leap forward in the 4 stages of development (economic, technological, social, political).

Xi seems to set to keep China’s development within the confines of the economic and technological only and block the social and political growth needed for china to mature and truly be Great.

[FlyerInHi]

I carry cash because when you go out with friends, it’s best to have cash so you can a split the bill. Always be prepared with cash otherwise you will have few friends.

Plus I like small independently owned restaurant, not chains. I don’t pay with a credit card at small businesses because it costs them money. And I think the waiters like cash. I don’t think my favorite Thai restaurant wants CC.

There are also some things to buy on Craigslist for home remodel/furnishing. I just bought a 5×4 vinyl window for $50. I rent out my places fully furnished.

[FlyerInHi]

[quote=ocrenter]

it is human nature to be complacent and arrogant on the top. This is why the underdog often come up ahead, and it is often the guy trailing throughout the entire race that edges ahead and wins the race.

China is case in point. It was so arrogant and complacent of its mighty status that all others were viewed as mere barbarians. that mentality was the reason why it was unable to reform and implement Western thoughts and innovations but Japan (the guy running that distant 2nd in the East Asian world) was able to and turn around and launch a full on assault of China.

I see the US doing much of the same. Huge number of Americans are extremely ignorant of the rest of the world, and lack the most fundamental understanding of the competition out there. I do wish the average Americans can have half of the knowledge base Brian has.

The saving grace for America is ultimately the immigrants. Immigrants from the 40-50’s (Jews and Eastern Europeans), immigrants from the 60-70’s (Persians and Vietnamese and Cubans), immigrants from the 80’s (Koreans, Taiwanese), immigrants in the 90’s to now (Chinese, Indian, Arab), and ultimately the steady flow of immigrants from Mexico and other Latin Americans throughout the entire last century. Has it not been for this continuous influx of the world’s best and brightest, America would have already started its decline several decades prior. Because it has been the immigrants propping up this country, no wonder White America feel they are being “discriminated.”[/quote]

I agree totally

I wouldnt have a problem with White middle America if they addressed their concerns with humility and humanity. But they claim to be the brightest and hardest working. All talk, no action.

I see Latinos work harder everyday. And I meet smarter immigrants everyday. My friend from Panama only has a HS but she speaks beautiful English because she reads a lot. She didn’t have education but she values it. There is no comparison between her speech and the vernacular of a “Real American.”

Edit: I think immigration is different in the 21st century. Immigrants become polygots and global citizens because technology facilitates that. They don’t have to work their way up over many generations.

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