In praise of cash
The core concept to remember I think is that there are two ways to pay for things:<p>* Ways that involve cash or cash equivalents<p>* Ways where a purchase requires the permission of someone else<p>Just think of the word authorization, which is a required element of essentially all non-cash transactions. It has the word authority embedded right in it. If you're OK with that concept, you are necessarily OK with the idea that someone you have never met and don't control has the ability to stop you from using your funds in the way you'd like to at any time.<p>A cashless society is, at a fundamental level, not free.