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Comment by wjsetzer | Hacker News Reader

That's messed up. I never carry any cash and I wouldn't carry more than $50 if I did. And all that for an expired license.

For a lot of people, that could mean losing a job and all kinds of other consequences.

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I'm just guessing but I'd imagine they'd take debit too.

I guess it's obvious in retrospect but most of my panic here was that someone would need cash. If that was the case, and cards weren't accepted, it would be truly draconian.

You definitely need cash.

I would hope. In my experience, sometimes government offices can be specific about payments.

For example, my sister had to pay a speeding ticket and the courthouse only accepted cash and money orders, iirc.

It all depends on where you get arrested/whatever.

That was my first question when getting booked.

  "Wait, it's $80 *cash*? What if I don't have cash on hand, can I pay by card?"
  "Nope - cash only."
  "...Do you have an ATM?"
  "Nope."

It's like a system designed to allow rich people to escape jail. My mind was blown. (Luckily, I was that rich asshole, as the day before I'd visited an ATM and pulled out more than I needed)

Do rich people actually carry around a lot of cash unless they’re traveling?

I wonder what happens if you're accused of a serious crime and the bail is set to $100,000. Do you have to bring them a fancy briefcase full of cash, since they won't take a check?

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