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Comment by PythonicAlpha | Hacker News Reader

It is not about marketing, it is about control.

I understand your point, but the money laundering laws and the abandoning of cash all leads into one direction: The government shall be in control, who uses money and for what reason.

As much I sympathize with the need to control money laundering and tax avoiding, I fear that our basic freedom rights are in grave danger. When I have to ask the government, before I can buy a car (with cash ... at least in Europe it is still normal to buy used cars from private people with cash) or have to fear the grip of the FBI, because I am reported by the bank, my freedom rights are hurt.

Also there where even small merchants accused, since they put sums <$10.000 repeatedly in their account. Something that is normal, when you earn <$10.000 in cash during the weak and empty your cash box at the end of week.

Don't make your whole population into offenders, because you want to prosecute some crimes!

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It's easy to see how you might interpret my snarky comment that way, but I agree with what you said about control except I would go further. I think people should be able to do whatever they like with their money (and what they decide is money), no government involvement whatsoever. Taxes are theft. If the gov "needs" our property, they should make the case; and if someone agrees, they can donate.

I did think, that your comment was mostly ironical.

I also know this thinking, that taxes are theft. But that is just one viewpoint. The other is, that taxes help to build a community, to build infrastructure, to build the internet ... (remember: the internet started as military network). Taxes are necessary, to help those that are weak and have not so much possibilities in life. To help those, that can not buy their schooling ... Before (gov. funded) public schooling was started, reading and writing was a privilege of less than 10% of the society. I would even go as far, that many of our today's achievements are because of taxes (only taking schools into account). Without public schools, we might have still steam machines. The fast successes of science are because so many people have access to education.

Even you and me might be still life in some underprivileged village and reap noggins without (tax paid) public schooling.

Sure they help build community, but paradigms change. There might be a better way. If a 1/3 of middle class income wasn't stolen and wasted bombing the manufactured enemy of the week or propping up corrupt banks, it's possible that even more would be spent on community. People like to give, but put under financial pressure, it's the first thing to stop. The real problem is this idea that it's ok to use violence to take someone elses property. It's a fundamental structural flaw, an asymmetry that undermines the rule of law by making it legal to steal if you have the right title.

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