Hello Steve,
Sorry for the delay in my response.
I do vaguely remember this being a topic of conversation when we first met.What triggered my renewed interest in it was the articles I posted and a conversation with someone(I will not reveal his name on a public forum)that lives here in Vallarta.Actually he is Canadian,helped build Whistler into what it is today by financing and design.His family still owns several businesses in Whistler,and I do mean the larger ones.They(he) are involved in several golf courses in Vancouver and Vallarta `as well as a few Mega Resorts here(over 500 rooms)
Having known him several years,and his background in finance,the topic always turns to some aspect of money,wether stocks,currency,gold,real estate,what have you.
In no uncertain terms he has told me the grand plan is a cashless society.His contacts in the bankinbg industry are Tier 1 people,and he tells me the Banks do not OFFICIALLY endorse this policy,as they would have a PR problem of epic porportions.There idea is to FUND orginizations that advocate cashless society,slowly but surely.
This is why I posted the article about a cashless society sponsered by ..who else...the BNS.
As he relates to me,and this is evolving he states,the current objective is a North American currency,no Canadian,nor USD,or Peso.Eventually this will be phased out to an all electronic system.
Lo and behold,Lou Dobbs on MoneyLine the other night said the EXACT same thing.I couldn't believe my ears,and this gentlemans credibility went up afew notches in my estimation!
So where does it leave the future of our hobby? Who really knows,yet I cant see it being as popular as it is now if currency disappears.Try to get a 17 year old to save a 1973 or 1954 $1.00 lol.(Of course there are exceptions)
We need only look at our own wives(although mine is now embracing the hobby in a manner totally different from me).They look at us like we are crazy extremists.Why waste good money for bad they scream,lol.
Back to my friend here,he tells me the purpose of this scheme is quite simple.So you can not avoid taxes.The stripper can not be tipped without taxes if it is all recorded and electronic.The garage sale will have taxes paid on every item.
But the main reason that will be put forth he tells me,is to do away with financial crime.In an example he stated that if someone breaks into your home,steals your TV,they cant sell it without a record because there is no cash to trade any longer.
He also stated if you have not secured your financial privacy out of NA by now,you can and should not.
This is but a brief synopsis of our talks,and my subsequent research.
What I really wanted was to stimulate a discussion among collectors/dealers about the future of our hobby.
Thanks for adding to it Steve.
It's the "perfect" system and its coming.
PS-Dealers are strangely silent on this.I suspect they know more than they are letting us in on? Mind you,if you read Rick's post here,he probably has a lot of info he could share but chooses not to.