David R. Warwick Release THE ABOLITION OF CASH
By: Christina Mancuso Jan. 28, 2016
SANTA ROSA, Calif., Jan. 28, 2016 /PRNewswire-iReach/ America needs to bring the cash era to an end says David R. Warwick, author of The Abolition of Cash: America's $660 Billion Burden because the social and economic costs attributable to it are enormous. This is an overdue and timely read in an increasingly cashless world.
It's well-documented and addresses a range of issues about terminating cash. It begins with the question of what happens when power fails, and ends with a discussion of the role of virtual currency.
It estimates the beneficial impact of cashlessness on a host of crimes including robbery, tax evasion, drug dealing, narcotrafficking and corruption. It discusses barter, gold and foreign currencies and whether cash-using crooks would switch to digital money.
It points out how cashlessness would advantage the poor. It examines the domestic and international collateral damages of AML; and contemplates ramifications of a cashless America on Mexico's horrific cartel terror. It analyzes loss of payment privacy and anonymity, and it explores the Darknet.
Cashless trends in Scandinavia have little influence, says Warwick. US Cash will circulate for a "very long time" (also voiced by the Fed's Vice Chairman Fisher in January 2016). Instead, the US is distracted by angst over identity theft and massive hackings; and obsessed with data surveillance and threats to privacy.
Neither concern justifies the overwhelming damage of cash: Indeed, the author notes that cybercrooks themselves rely on cash in their schemes. Moreover, he adds, cash is hardly a defense against overbearing governance, citing North Korean as an example.
The book depicts today's unattended 24/7 ATM as a microcosm of cash crime a place where 7,500 Americans are robbed each year; where crooks use "skimmers" to siphon off patrons' bankcard and PINs; where "carders" use phony bankcards implanted with hacked card numbers to steal money; and where fifty times a day 'crash and grab' thieves ram stolen vehicles into buildings and cart away entire ATMs.
Warwick implores policy makers to embark on the task of terminating US cash an idea still "politically unwelcome." He calculates cash's overall cost at four to five times more than the comprehensive cost of cybercrime. He stops counting cash costs at $660 billion roughly equal to annual federal outlays for old-age Social Security.
This is a thought-provoking, informative and entertaining book. Available at Amazon in print and Kindle.
David R. Warwick is California businessman and an independent researcher and writer. He also wrote "Ending Cash, the Public Benefits of Federal Electronic Currency," published in 1998, and numerous articles on transitioning to digital money.
Media Contact: David Warwick, David R. Warwick, 707-545-9898, drwarwick@comcast.net
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