4 ms·

The convenience argument is complete nonsense. Personally I hate dealing with physical things like writing a letter, buy an envelope (well, buy 20 when I need o

by 190181931 10y ago

The convenience argument is complete nonsense. Personally I hate dealing with physical things like writing a letter, buy an envelope (well, buy 20 when I need one) and a stamp and mail it, but cash is really the single most easy physical thing to deal with that I know of.

nhaehnle 10y ago
It depends on the cash. I suspect that a lot of the cash-hate is supported by experiences in countries with badly designed cash. Compare e.g. the US$ and the Euro - the latter one is well designed, the former isn't. Other cultural factors come into play, again the US comes to mind as negative example due to the way prices are usually displayed without sales tax, which makes it hard to have the correct change in hand quickly.
- k__ 10y ago
  What makes the Dollar worse than the Euro?
  - chillwaves 10y ago
    Not commenting on currency, but I enjoy visiting countries where taxes are calculated into the menu price, which also tend to be nice round numbers. No more estimations on what stuff costs (level of taxes can change with a 20 minute drive), you always know and making/having the right change is easy.
    - wordtoyourmom 10y ago
      Including the tax in the price somewhat conceals the tax rate.
      - nicky0 10y ago
        I would question whether tax-obviousness outweighs convenience.
      - k__ 10y ago
        It would make sense to me if people get different rates. Like people with children paid only half etc.
        wordtoyourmom 10y ago
        The idea is that it helps keep your local government in check.
        Symbiote 10y ago
        Isn't that equally satisfied by writing "VAT 20% = €3,23" at the bottom of the receipt? That's the usual method in most of the EU. (Though local taxes are rare, if they exist at all.)
  - lorenzhs 10y ago
    I'm European and recently visited the US, so I'll describe what bugged me about dollars. All bills are the same size and color, making them Very hard to distinguish at a glance. The coins are mostly useless, as the largest commonly used denomination is the quarter. The five cent coins is also ridiculously large (but nothing compared to the British 2p coin...) In contrast, Euro bills' size increases with value (easy access in the wallet if you keep them in sorted order) and they are easily distinguished by colour. The largest commonly used coin is 2€ ($2.25), which is actually worth something and doesn't jut clog pockets/wallets. I do wish we'd get rid of the 1c and 2c coins, though.
    - pravda 10y ago
      >All bills are the same size and color, making them Very hard to distinguish at a glance Well, they do have different numbers on them. Different pictures too. I find them easy to distinguish at a glance.
      - Symbiote 10y ago
        Compare American banknotes to other countries. Take British banknotes for example: http://www.atsnotes.com/catalog/banknotes-pictures/great-britain/great-britain-389.JPG http://www.atsnotes.com/catalog/banknotes-pictures/great-bri... These have clearly been designed to be distinguished. They're different sizes and different colours. One side has a bold number and a bold shape (circle/diamond/square). The other has a monochrome (but not black!) portrait, plus a picture with reasonable contrast. The Danish notes have the same features, but with brighter colours and a less ornate design: http://www.atsnotes.com/catalog/banknotes-pictures/denmark/denmark-65.JPG http://www.atsnotes.com/catalog/banknotes-pictures/denmark/d... By comparison, the American notes all look very similar. A black-and-white portrait of a man, centred, with a black circle to the left and a green circle to the right, with dark borders to the top and bottom. Numbers are in a traditional, unclear font. Slight colouring exists on some values, but only in the background, and the colours aren't far from a green-brown. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/USDnotes.png https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/USDnotes... Pick random countries from here: http://www.atsnotes.com/catalog/catalog.html http://www.atsnotes.com/catalog/catalog.html

nhaehnle 10y ago

It depends on the cash. I suspect that a lot of the cash-hate is supported by experiences in countries with badly designed cash. Compare e.g. the US$ and the Euro - the latter one is well designed, the former isn't. Other cultural factors come into play, again the US comes to mind as negative example due to the way prices are usually displayed without sales tax, which makes it hard to have the correct change in hand quickly.

k__ 10y ago
What makes the Dollar worse than the Euro?
- chillwaves 10y ago
  Not commenting on currency, but I enjoy visiting countries where taxes are calculated into the menu price, which also tend to be nice round numbers. No more estimations on what stuff costs (level of taxes can change with a 20 minute drive), you always know and making/having the right change is easy.
  - wordtoyourmom 10y ago
    Including the tax in the price somewhat conceals the tax rate.
    - nicky0 10y ago
      I would question whether tax-obviousness outweighs convenience.
    - k__ 10y ago
      It would make sense to me if people get different rates. Like people with children paid only half etc.
      - wordtoyourmom 10y ago
        The idea is that it helps keep your local government in check.
        Symbiote 10y ago
        Isn't that equally satisfied by writing "VAT 20% = €3,23" at the bottom of the receipt? That's the usual method in most of the EU. (Though local taxes are rare, if they exist at all.)
- lorenzhs 10y ago
  I'm European and recently visited the US, so I'll describe what bugged me about dollars. All bills are the same size and color, making them Very hard to distinguish at a glance. The coins are mostly useless, as the largest commonly used denomination is the quarter. The five cent coins is also ridiculously large (but nothing compared to the British 2p coin...) In contrast, Euro bills' size increases with value (easy access in the wallet if you keep them in sorted order) and they are easily distinguished by colour. The largest commonly used coin is 2€ ($2.25), which is actually worth something and doesn't jut clog pockets/wallets. I do wish we'd get rid of the 1c and 2c coins, though.
  - pravda 10y ago
    >All bills are the same size and color, making them Very hard to distinguish at a glance Well, they do have different numbers on them. Different pictures too. I find them easy to distinguish at a glance.
    - Symbiote 10y ago
      Compare American banknotes to other countries. Take British banknotes for example: http://www.atsnotes.com/catalog/banknotes-pictures/great-britain/great-britain-389.JPG http://www.atsnotes.com/catalog/banknotes-pictures/great-bri... These have clearly been designed to be distinguished. They're different sizes and different colours. One side has a bold number and a bold shape (circle/diamond/square). The other has a monochrome (but not black!) portrait, plus a picture with reasonable contrast. The Danish notes have the same features, but with brighter colours and a less ornate design: http://www.atsnotes.com/catalog/banknotes-pictures/denmark/denmark-65.JPG http://www.atsnotes.com/catalog/banknotes-pictures/denmark/d... By comparison, the American notes all look very similar. A black-and-white portrait of a man, centred, with a black circle to the left and a green circle to the right, with dark borders to the top and bottom. Numbers are in a traditional, unclear font. Slight colouring exists on some values, but only in the background, and the colours aren't far from a green-brown. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/USDnotes.png https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/USDnotes... Pick random countries from here: http://www.atsnotes.com/catalog/catalog.html http://www.atsnotes.com/catalog/catalog.html