What in your wallet? Stores should be required to take cash, Senator says

With fights raging across this country over critical race theory, vaccine and mask mandates and massive federal appropriations bills, it is easy to become distracted and pay less attention to other issues, while staying in our partisan corners.

If you’ll indulge me with a moment of your time, I’d like to submit Senate Bill 242 for your consideration and hopefully get your support. I truly hope it can be passed with bipartisan support.

What the legislation does is simple: with a few exceptions, it requires retail establishments to accept cash. Have you, like me, been to a store lately and told that it doesn’t accept cash? It is happening more and more, especially in technology stores.

Ownership and big government may think this is the legal tender of the future, but for consumers it is bad for business.

I believe moving to an entirely cashless society will be a net bad thing, as it allows for all sorts of mischief from our largest businesses working in tandem with government.

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My Democratic colleagues may or may not agree with that sentiment, but Democrats in New Jersey certainly agree with the legislation: My bill mirrors legislation recently passed there.

That legislation, now law, was sponsored by a Democrat and signed into law by a Democratic governor. Similar legislation has recently been passed in Rhode Island and Colorado, the only novelty in this case is that it now has a Republican primary sponsor in Ohio.

While at the federal level, President Joe Biden's administration thinks it should be able to track any transaction over $600, Big Brother seems to overlook the people in this country struggling to pay the bills. Many low-income citizens remain unbanked and prefer to use cash.

Why should they be forced to use a bank or cash card that charges them to use their own money? Is the goal to shut them out or force conformity under the banner of technological progress?

If you’re from my generation, I would be willing to guess your grandparents perhaps don’t have a credit card. They only pay cash, or write a check, and only buy what they can afford — living within their means.

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I imagine many would be opposed to being told that cash is unacceptable. Given the aforementioned alliances between the largest tech companies, banks and the government, is it really such a stretch to believe that we’ll have a social credit system in this country if cash is effectively phased out?

What about the concept of negative interest rate policy (NIRP) that puts you in a “use it or lose it” situation with your savings? Sound bizarre? A social credit system exists in China, and Europe has had negative interest rates; a cashless society makes it easier to accomplish both.

This can happen here if we're not careful, and your income should never be considered a gift card with an expiration date.

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Consider the very thoughtful article, “Gentrification of Payments,” by Brett Scott and decide for yourself.

Opponents will invariably say that keeping cash alive will impede progress; that robbery remains viable as long as physical cash is involved; it increases disease transmission; and that it’s unwieldy and an expense on small business owners. I can appreciate some of these concerns, however, I remain skeptical and will address them in sponsor testimony.

State Senator Louis W. Blessing III, a Republican, represents the 8th District, which is includes Colerain Township in the Cincinnati area.