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I don't understand this. Surely it's up to me to accept whatever I want? If I tell you in advance that I want 5 apples in return for my 10 potatoes, that's all

by ue_ 9y ago

I don't understand this. Surely it's up to me to accept whatever I want? If I tell you in advance that I want 5 apples in return for my 10 potatoes, that's all I'll accept. I don't want money, I want apples. Why is this any different? Can you really "always settle a debt with cash"? Even if you are told beforehand that the deal isn't for cash? Would this mean that I am effectively forced to accept cash for rendering goods or services?

phil21 9y ago
> Surely it's up to me to accept whatever I want? It is, up until the point you turn it into a debt. This means you can require trading apples in return for potatoes, but you have to do the transaction up-front. So if you ran a food stand and rejected any cash transactions at the point of sale, you are completely within the law. You could not give your apples to your neighbor in the spring, and force them to settle up via potatoes in the fall. If they wanted to, they could pay you the equivalent of their potato debt in cash. And yes, if someone ends up owing you money and offers you cash to settle - you must accept it, with very few exceptions. All debts public and private actually does have some serious teeth after all. A long time ago I had to settle a bet on this topic, and it was more extensive than this. The tldr; is that at no time in US history have you been forced to take US currency, with the exception of debts. It actually does make sense. What happens in the event your neighbors potato harvest fails and they get out of the business? If you sued them in court, the court would award you the market value of the replacement cost of the potatoes you did not receive (most likely). And thus they would be settling up via cash either way.
jrs235 9y ago
Because it is a debt. In the U.S. all debts, public or private, may be paid in "cash" with Federal Reserve Notes (fiat currency). You'd need to have your contract signed and agreed upon prior to rendering services or goods.
FlyingAvatar 9y ago
Yes, that is the definition of legal tender: (n) coins or banknotes that must be accepted if offered in payment of a debt. Debt != barter A potential workaround would be if the menu's prices were not in dollars, but instead in credit card points or some such nonsense, but even this is probably arguable.

by ue_ 9y ago

phil21 9y ago

> Surely it's up to me to accept whatever I want? It is, up until the point you turn it into a debt. This means you can require trading apples in return for potatoes, but you have to do the transaction up-front. So if you ran a food stand and rejected any cash transactions at the point of sale, you are completely within the law. You could not give your apples to your neighbor in the spring, and force them to settle up via potatoes in the fall. If they wanted to, they could pay you the equivalent of their potato debt in cash. And yes, if someone ends up owing you money and offers you cash to settle - you must accept it, with very few exceptions. All debts public and private actually does have some serious teeth after all. A long time ago I had to settle a bet on this topic, and it was more extensive than this. The tldr; is that at no time in US history have you been forced to take US currency, with the exception of debts. It actually does make sense. What happens in the event your neighbors potato harvest fails and they get out of the business? If you sued them in court, the court would award you the market value of the replacement cost of the potatoes you did not receive (most likely). And thus they would be settling up via cash either way.

jrs235 9y ago

Because it is a debt. In the U.S. all debts, public or private, may be paid in "cash" with Federal Reserve Notes (fiat currency). You'd need to have your contract signed and agreed upon prior to rendering services or goods.

FlyingAvatar 9y ago

Yes, that is the definition of legal tender: (n) coins or banknotes that must be accepted if offered in payment of a debt. Debt != barter A potential workaround would be if the menu's prices were not in dollars, but instead in credit card points or some such nonsense, but even this is probably arguable.