Paper Money Market: A Cashless Future Makes Headlines
Headlines warning of a cashless future keep circulating, but how much is hype—and how much reflects a growing bias against physical money?
Could the media be prejudiced towards encouraging a cashless society? A recent leading, or more likely misleading, headline screams, “Goodbye to These Bills—Wal-Mart Announces That It Will Not Accept These Dollars Starting in November.” Another incredulous recent headline reads: “Only One in 12 Adults ‘Still Uses Coins and Bank Notes All the Time.” And what about the recent New York Times newspaper article titled “America Must Free Itself from the Tyranny of the Penny?”
If you read the Wal-Mart article, it actually explains that many merchants don’t want to accept damaged bank notes—especially if the note is missing one of its two sets of serial numbers. The key to the second headline is the wording “All the Time,” which the publisher purposely used to emphasize a cashless agenda.
Since such headlines are appearing with some frequency, we have to ask ourselves if the “woke society” folks are declaring war on physical cash.
Admittedly, money has its defenders in the press. In late 2023, Aeon.co published an article titled “Going Cashless,” with the subheading, “It’s not in the interests of the ordinary person, but it’s not a conspiracy either. A cashless society is a system run amok.”
So, what is the conclusion? Are we, as cash advocates, fighting a war with “woke society” over its use? Unfortunately, the answer seems to be that we don’t know, but it’s something we should all pay attention to.
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