Switzerland to hold referendum on the future of cash

[eurocoin]

Cashless society? Not in Switzerland where people will vote on keeping banknotes and coins forever

Swiss citizens will get the chance to try to ensure their economy never becomes cashless, a pressure group said, after collecting enough signatures on Monday to trigger a popular vote on the issue.

The Free Switzerland Movement (FBS) says cash is playing a shrinking role in many economies, as electronic payments become the default for transactions in increasingly digitised societies, making it easier for the state to monitor its citizens' actions. It wants a clause added to Switzerland's currency law, which governs how the central bank and government manage the money supply, stipulating that a "sufficient quantity" of banknotes or coins must always remain in circulation.

There is no evidence of moves towards a cashless society by Swiss authorities.

FBS said it had garnered over 111,000 signatures in support of the measure, above the 100,000 needed to trigger a popular vote.

In defence of cash

Under Switzerland's system of direct democracy, the proposal would become law if approved by voters, though government and parliament would decide how that law was implemented.

"It is clear that... getting rid of cash not only touches on issues of transparency, simplicity or security... but also carries a huge danger of totalitarian surveillance," FBS president Richard Koller said on the group's website. He also views Switzerland as a European standard-bearer for the defence of cash, as pushing through such guarantees in the European Union would entail the "almost impossible" process of securing approval from all 27 member states.

Accelerated by the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns, the trend towards increased cashless payments was evident as far back as 2017, when an Ipsos study found more than a third of Europeans and Americans would happily go without cash and 20 per cent pretty much did so already.

Source: Euronews

[Tirant]

"making it easier for the state to monitor its citizens' actions"

"It is clear that... getting rid of cash not only touches on issues of transparency, simplicity or security... but also carries a huge danger of totalitarian surveillance,"

Thanks lord people is getting realized that that's what they actually want on us.

Cashless society? NEVER!!!

[Figleaf]

f there is indeed a danger of totalitarian surveillance, the options are not restricted to not making the change. The proper way to approach the question is to study it and make scenario's on how this would happen. This is particularly so in this case.

If there were a totalitarian regime in Switzerland, why would it have any trouble setting aside a rule that stops abolishing cash? Instead, how would it operate a surveillance system? The obvious answer is with a centralised administrative system. The weak point of any centralised administrative system is that it is relatively easy to destroy. The answer could therefore be in a committee of government outsiders (e.g. university professors in political sciences) with a mandate to supervise (not run) the system and a secure and equitable procedure to destroy it thoroughly (including data copies).

Even that wouldn't stop a totalitarian regime from rebuilding the system eventually. So the ultimate defence is to defend democracy vigorously and before there's a crowd storming the buildings that are at the core of democracy.

Edmund Burke, sometimes called the father of conservatism, put it like this in "Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents" (1770): "When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle."

Peter

[chrisild]

Even that wouldn't stop a totalitarian regime from rebuilding the system eventually. So the ultimate defence is to defend democracy vigorously and before there's a crowd storming the buildings that are at the core of democracy.

In this particular case I am kind of torn anyway. I support "pro-cash" initiatives – for example, regulations (whether they are local or countrywide) that would not allow stores to refuse cash. On one hand, we talk about, and promote, the concept of inclusion no matter whether it is about gender, "race", physical abilities, etc. On the other hand, putting people at disadvantage who do not, or simply cannot, use cards seems to be OK. There is something wrong with that.

Then again, the Euronews article does not tell you anything about the background, particularly about this FBS and Koller. He has launched initiatives against migrants and against "mandatory vaccinations" in Switzerland before. This new initiative is supported by the EDU (a "Protestant fundamentalist and right-wing populist party" according to Wikipedia), by anti-vaccers and anti-5G (mobile technology) people.

This is a dilemma that I have been in before: Some of the Covid-19 related restrictions, in some German states, I found unnecessarily harsh or even stupid. But when we had such restrictions, would I have "joined" (even for a short demo  ) those who claimed that all measures were unnecessary, part of some big plot, that the vaccinations would make us sick or even worse, see the "Gates & Soros" legends, spiced up with QAnon ingredients? No.

Same thing in this case - or "these cases" (the cash initiative mentioned by Euronews is not the only one by Koller & Co.). Well, I do not live in Switzerland, and have no idea of how sucessful they will be. After all, the signatures simply mean that there will be a referendum. As far as I know, there is usually no quorum, but of course the government may make a different proposal that more voters will then support ...