The future of money: Lana Swartz on digital currency and the benefits of cash

Don’t have cash? No problem. The number of places where you can use cashless transactions has multiplied in recent years, from digital wallets to contactless payments on public transit. For all the convenience of digital currency, however, there are significant downsides to eschewing cash, according to Lana Swartz, an assistant professor of media studies. Swartz argues that cash is a “universal, public, printed monetary medium” that makes it possible for people to participate equally in economic exchanges.

Lana Swartz, "In Praise of the Dollar Bill," MIT Technology Review, 15 April 2022

 

1. In the first two paragraphs of her essay, Swartz states her “I say” argument and the “they say” argument she is responding to. Using templates from Chapter 1 and Chapter 4, paraphrase these “they say” and “I say” statements into your own words.
   
2. Swartz identifies many benefits to using cash as opposed to digital currency. Name three of these benefits. In your own view, which benefit do you think is most critical, and why? What is a significant downside to using cash instead of mobile currency or digital transactions?
3. What groups of people have the most difficult time using or accessing digital currency or mobile transactions? Why? In the past, what were the ramifications of having multiple monetary systems in the United States? What inequities might a “cash-light” or “cashless” economy create today?
4. Swartz argues, “we might work to prevent money that acts like today’s social media platforms: privatized and rooted in data-driven business models.” What are the key differences between public money, like cash, and privatized monetary systems, like cryptocurrency? How might the privacy of individuals be affected if our future monetary systems were built like today’s social media platforms? What do you think could be done to combine the stability of printed cash and the convenience of digital currency?

Comments

[Leena Ratti]

In her essay , “ In praise of dollar bill” Lana Swartz argues that an appropriate currency should be created that could give us the benefit of the bill as well as the technological cashless purchases. However along with that she forgets to state one significant aspect about the transactional chain of the cash. Since the founder is the keeper in case of cash, when it comes to paying taxes, the federal government cannot keep the track of the cash flow thereby giving opportunities to the people who only work in cash in order to save the federal and provincial taxes. So adding on to the category of people are the ones also who would not like to have the cash that serves both the purpose of cash as well as digital currency. As a result of such currency the tax frauds would not be then possible.

[Mason Curtis]

Lana Swartz argues that while current technological forms of payment aren't perfect, we should still develop some sort of currency that gives the benefit of both the bill and electronic currency. However, there are advantages to digital and cash currency that are not inherently there when both are combined. Digital currency allows for there to be an absolute record of all transactions which helps alleviate the possibility of tax fraud. However, those that choose to deal in cash, or pay employees for one time jobs, have the ability to charge a flat rate, and not pay taxes on one time services or jobs such as, hiring the neighbors kid to mow your lawn. While both systems have their benefits and flaws, moving towards a dual currency would most likely be of benefit to all.

[Agustin Owens]

a. The author is mostly disagreeing because he believes moving away from cash will lead to inequality and the people that use cash will be the lower class. We can clearly see this in the first sentence of the second paragraph.
B.The author does give the idea of people on the other side and why they think cash is a bad idea.
C. I think the author is very considerate and respectful of the other side's opinion. This is very important because being disrespectful would show that you don't have much to your argument

[William Lin]

Lana Swartz is right that cash has some benefits compared to digital currency. However, she seems more dubious when she claims that cash is the best transactional tool for increasing community and individual independence. First, it is hard to provoke any actions to make counterfeit copies of it. As for the second, cash will keep transactions anonymous. Furthermore, the third would be that people do not need to pay the payer or additional payee fees. The most critical benefit would be the second one because keeping transactions anonymous can prevent criminals from gaining access to people's bank accounts. However, the downside is that cash can sometimes come from a failed or fictitious bank or might have been a counterfeit copy of a note from a functioning bank. People in the much lower class have trouble using or accessing digital currency or mobile transactions because digital currencies are subject to high fluctuations in value. The ramifications of having multiple monetary systems in the U.S. meant that everyday spending requires considerable street smarts, which caused a highly chaotic situation that created highly stratified transactional communities.

[XinGuo]

1. It is convenient to pay in cash. There's a lot of tax relief.2. Lana Swartz believes that while electronic payment is convenient, there are still some drawbacks. 3.I think both cash and electronic payment should be improved. Cash should be prevented from being fake, and electronic payment should improve the security of people's use

[Idella Mcdonald]

Many people don't pay with cash anymore because so much technology has changed and everyone has changed to debit and credit card transactions. You can also save your money a lot better by using a card. I feel that you constantly have the cash you want to spend as soon as you get it. With me having a card now I have been able to manage my money properly. Not saying having cash is bad because it is not. Some places do only take cash payments so having cash on hand is also very helpful. In her essay, “ In praise of dollar bill” Lana Swartz argues that an appropriate currency should be created to give the benefit of the bill as well as the technological cashless purchases. I agree with her because some of us don't understand the purpose of cash. Lots of federal issues can come with handling cashless payments. People like to have the cash the IRS doesn't know actually how much ou really have.

[tyler a]

Lana Swartz is correct in her argument by saying that there are many benefits to living in a cashless society. Though that may be the case, having cash and spending it is a crucial part of our lifestyle that will never fully dissipate. Cash is a reliable source of payment that can be accepted almost anywhere, and it is a more stable form of currency that has been around for a longer period of time. That being said, many people can and should still be able to go for the option of using other methods of payment such as cryptocurrency or credit cards, but they should keep in mind the danger that they could potentially be putting themselves into by doing so. The use of digital payment options opens the door to plenty of fraudulent activity and scammers that can manipulate you and take your money. While that may seem jarring, the use of digital money does have its benefits such as convenience and low-profile transactions. I personally believe that in order to keep things running smoothly, locations around the country should be accepting of both cash payments and digital payments to give people a fair choice.

[PatrickOrz]

In these times after the pandemic people are more mindful of the germs that they come into contact with. As a society, we have realized how dirty physical cash is, taking into consideration how many hands it passes until it reaches yours. In light of this, some businesses have gone cashless entirely. An issue that arises from this is, the lack of consideration for older generations and the less educated. These groups of people would have the most difficult time converting their physical cash into online currency. They are not technologically savvy as the average person and will have difficulty adapting to this new way of using money. Some people just might not trust online banks as they rather have cash that they can control. Moving along with how society is, these demographics will have to be accounted for along with stragglers of other demographics that face the same issue. Big changes are being made in short periods of time and some people are just not ready for it.

[Ahmad P.]

In Lana Swartz’s essay “In praise of dollar bill,” she talks about how the rise of digital payments has possibly caused “far weightier social barriers and inequalities.” However, using cash for payments have deemed to be more beneficial than originally expected. For instance, using cash instead of credit or debit cards can make sure that the transactions can remain anonymous. This will prevent the possibility of card information theft. Secondly, cash payments allow one to know exactly how much they have on hand. With cards, one may be spending more than what they have, which can lead to debt. Lastly, the digital currency has so many factors involved in it. It relies on the bank, the card, and the card machine working properly to allow the transaction to work efficiently. Out of all these things though, the best benefit of using cash is knowing exactly how much you have on you. Many people end up going into debt as they end up spending more than what they can give back. However, it is also worth noting that using digital currency is much more convenient and secure. Cash can become too heavy or bulky at times, making it much easier in misplacing it.

[Charles Clermont]

We are in a time where everything is changing before our eyes. Everything is changing from the physical to digital market. Money is also making this transition. The digital world makes the physical world easier but not everything can make this transition and I think money is in the middle. Having digital money makes life easier. You don't need to carry a wallet full of cash. You don’t have to remember to bring cash with you when you go out. It is safer to have no cash on you. You can make purchases easier and faster but It's also helpful to have cash. Some shops/institutions only take cash. Examples of these are like little businesses that would see on the side of the road. When you go for a haircut you probably pay cash I know I do. If you go to a cash station, pay cash for small items. Everyone has their own way of doing things. I don’t mind paying with cash on with digital money. There are positives to both of these forms of payment. In the article In Praise of Dollar Bill the writer Lana Swartz says that there should be currency that can be used physically and digitally to satisfy both parties.

[Charles clermont]

We are in a time where everything is changing before our eyes. Everything is changing from the physical to digital market. Money is also making this transition. The digital world makes the physical world easier but not everything can make this transition and I think money is in the middle. Having digital money makes life easier. You don't need to carry a wallet full of cash. You don’t have to remember to bring cash with you when you go out. It is safer to have no cash on you. You can make purchases easier and faster but It's also helpful to have cash. Some shops/institutions only take cash. Examples of these are like little businesses that would see on the side of the road. When you go for a haircut you probably pay cash I know I do. If I go to a gas station, I pay cash for small items. Everyone has their own way of doing things. I don’t mind paying with cash or with digital money. There are positives to both of these forms of payment. In the article In Praise of Dollar Bill the writer Lana Swartz says that there should be currency that can be used physically and digitally to satisfy both parties and I also agree.

[Amber Pink]

A Cashless society wouldn't be fair to people that are homeless, and to the elderly that can’t understand technology. If you were to think about it, if the world we live in were to be cashless then people would be more vulnerable to cyber-attacks. There should be a balance between physical currency and online transactions currency. As technology advances, people are starting to use cashless transactions and I hope it doesn’t break our society. Remembering when you had to swipe your card and enter the pin, insert the card, and entering the pin, to tapping your card. Now we are using phones to pay for things which shows us the transition of how we pay for things in our modern-day society. We are advancing in a fast pass and I assume we would start using chip implants to pay for things in the future

[lisa.sch]

Lana Swartz writes in her article about the drawbacks of living in a cashless society. While society adapts to new inventions and tends to pick the more convenient way, paying cash has become the currency that gets used less than paying electronically. The pandemic made people more aware of hygiene and germs that spread easily while paying with cash. For people, including myself, it is convenient, effortless, and easy to pay with their phones or cards. The last few years I rarely made the effort to go to an ATM to pick up some cash as I didn’t have the need to do it. Recently that mindset of mine changed drastically. Three months ago, I started studying in a foreign country, on the other side of the world from my home town. As being an international student, I have come to the conclusion that cash is still an important currency to have. Paying with cash comes with no fees. Due to the fact that my credit and debit cards are from my home country, with every transaction there are additional fees that occur. At first the few cents did not disturb me but realising how much I actually pay electronically, these “small” fees secretly sum up to a noticeable amount of money. In addition to Swartz’s mentioned arguments, about why cash is still important, I now always carry a small amount of cash with me. Cash is indeed a currency that we cannot yet go fully without.

[Aidan]

Begins with talk about covid and some precautions used that affected the use of paper money. This had a bigger effect than planned. Going online provides many benefits, but also carries a risk. Cash is a safer option. Cash is defined and explained through history and past use. Spending money has required some street smarts and skills, the world of money is quite complex.Those who were wealthy were easily able to progress in life, while the poor were stuck using coins. The future points to a life with much less cash, but most likely not cashless. Cash is universal, but it has many flaws such as being able to be stolen, and is unable to use online.New forms of money are not the most reliable and can be risky as well.