Cash abolition in slices - so that it doesn't hurt so much right away
Today we start with a little parable.
If you throw a frog into water that
is too hot, it immediately jumps out.
But if you put a frog in
a pot of lukewarm water, it will
stay in it, even if you heat
the water very slowly to the boiling
point and thus to its death -
as far as this well-known parable goes.
Do we actually perceive the
slow and sometimes hardly noticeable
changes in our living conditions?
Let us consider - so that it
does not happen to us like the
frog - the rising "thermometer" of the
grievances pointed out in the following by
industrious contemporary witnesses and realize how "hot
the water" has already become around us!
Thus, the following part of this
program also draws attention to the
creeping abolition of cash.
For thousands of years, bartering coins has
proven its worth around the world.
Unlike some other European countries, Germany
is far from a cashless society.
Apparently, the cash-loving Germans are now to be weaned
off their cash one slice at a time.
On the one hand, the Bundesbank has started to
withdraw 500-euro bills from circulation, and on the other
hand, it is now not uncommon for banks to
accept coins only for a fee.
Now Sparda-Bank Hannover has
even gone one better:
Only two of its 25 branches
still accept and issue hard currency.
Admittedly, this is seemingly
an insignificantly small step.
But this is precisely why
increased consumer vigilance and a
clear customer veto are needed.
Because if our veto fails to
materialize at this already advanced stage,
we will soon see the complete
abolition of cash - with fully
traceable electronic payments.