OK, do we need a "real" currency?

Interesting that most of the replies are finding possible issues, but not many showstoppers that would make it impossible.

It would be a huge culture shock, so many aspects of crime would be stopped, and anything that reduces the control of the banking systems has to be so worth doing at this stage, seeing the mess they got us into.

Unfotunately, I doubt that we'd be able to find a politician with the courage to take up this idea and run with it, it's been clear from recent weeks that there's a distinct lack of real courage in the political arena,

It was worth a try,

Steve

Gonzor wrote: »

Just had a quick glance at whats being mentioned already so forgive any repeats.

1) How do small buisnesses cope with this? Take the local corner shop. Or your local taxi driver? They now need to purchase hardware/computers or go out of business? How much is it going to cost the small business to get this setup.

A lot of small businesses already have electronic processing, and if this was to become a reality, there would be other methods, using things like one time cards, or similar,

2) It causes a lot of problems with giving money to other people. Your teenage daughter is going to the cinema and needs 30euro.... if you know in advance then you can transfer money to her card/account but what about when she tells ya at the very last minute.

the transfer is made there and then, using either the net, or a mobile phone, or a phone line transfer, the technology is already there and in use, just not always available 24/7 at the moment, but that's the supplier's choice right now.

3) It wont really stop criminals and people buying drugs. That 50euro I transferred to his account that day was because he washed my windows/sold me some playstation games etc.... And Im sure the bigger fish will similarly have their excuses lined up about poker games and donations and what have ya... though on the plus side we mightened be able to prove criminality but we could certainly look into taxing them.

Looks like a plus to me, and depending on the time of day, and the other aspects, etc, a much better trace of activity is available, so that all looks good in that respect.

4) What happens when there is a powercut at your local spar. Or if the internet (presuming this is all done online) goes down.

Exactly the same as happens now, the local spar etc is pretty much in trouble with bar code scanning tills and the like already, and there are cheap options to provide backup power to things like tills already.

5) What happens when hackers start messing with the system.... no point in saying they wont even at least try. Because they will.

Yes, but hopefully, most of it will be on Linux based boxes rather than Microsoft boxes, so hacking is harder to do, and the same issue applies, if the transaction is electronic, for it to happen, there has to be a trail, and even hackers don't like being traced.

And then to top it all off, I cant see the people of Ireland agreeing to this. Too many people would have to much too lose, the small shops, worried criminals, politicians trying to hide papertrails or anybody thats in the "brown envelope game" in any way, shape or form.

Shame Criminals and politicians inconvenienced by having to be honest, that will be a refreshing change indeed, who knows, after a few years, we might even be able to trust the politicians again.

Things like Social Welfare fraud, along the lines of a couple that fly to Turkey every other month with 2 empty suitcases, use a relative's apartment for a few days, and come back with the 2 suitcases stuffed with things to sell, one case pays for the flights, the other is clear profit, yet they are on benefits, if they can't hide the cash like they do now, they can't fiddle the system in the way they do now.

I reckon that's a good plus for all the rest of us.

No cash would upset the travelling community as well, as they'd have less ability to hide their activities, Oh dear, pardon me if I don't shed too many tears about that change.

Would also be interesting to see how many non Irish benefit claimants are actually resident here, or do they arrive on Ryanair the day before they are due to sign on, and return the same evening after they've signed?

Disability benefit claimants who are suddenly found to have a significant income from "unknown" sources?

Double jobbers, who are paid cash for the second job?

Refugees who are on benefit and not supposed to be working, but are? There are apparently 15 taxi's operating out of the camp at Mosney.

All of these are a part, maybe not a large part, but a part of why the social welfare bill is as high as it is, and if it came down, that's a step in the right direction of getting the cost of living in Ireland back down to manageable levels, which will help reduce the overall bill that everyone else is having to support right now.

Yes, the banks and speculators, encouraged by naive or ignorant (I'm still not sure which) politicians caused a lot of it, but the other aspect is that even if the property bubble hadn't exploded in the way that it did, the total governement spend was too high, and had/has to be brought down to a level that all of us can afford.

If taking cash out of the loop, especially if the Euro goes bang in the next while, will help get a better management of all aspects of the way Irish Society is operating, then maybe it should be being looked at in a more strutured manner.

No, it won't be easy, none of what we're facing right now is easy, and that's part of the problem, too many people are looking at it and turning away from the issues because they are too hard.

That's not going to solve the problem, and if we want to have an Irish nation that people can be proud of, and that will work properly for the children that are still being born on a day by day basis, then everything has to go into the melting pot to be tested by heat and fire, and if it's not viable, then it has to change, and the present social and economic structure of what's left of Ireland has to be a prime candidate, along with things like the church/state relationship, the future of the Irish Language and all things related to it, and if we really are honest, the whole structure and direction of the Republic.

Republic 2 may not be so far away, or such a bad idea, if it means that the children being born now will have a future. At least it has the potential to be a bloodless revolution. Ireland is large enough, and paradoxically small enough to be able to withstand the pressures and problems of making such changes in ways and timescales that are just not an option for larger nations, and the end result could well be a much better place to live for the future generations.

It's time to move on from cronyism, the brown envelope culture, and the divisions that have hindered progress for too long.

Ireland is a different society now to what it was even 20 years ago, and as a result, the changes needed now are massive even compared to 20 years ago. If they are made, there is a future, if they are not, I fear there will not be a future that I would want to be part of or associated with.

Yes, I've drifted away in some respects from the original subject of the thread, but that's because it's part of the overall picture, and the overall picture is what we have to deal with, and right now, we need any and all methods, however controversial, that will deal with the problems that are out there right now.

Steve