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Seems to me you can make anything sound ominous with your choice of writing style. In 1982 I was advised not to use ATM machines because it would enable governm

Seems to me you can make anything sound ominous with your choice of writing style. In 1982 I was advised not to use ATM machines because it would enable government surveillance of our spending. That was breathlessly silly, too. I am more worried about people cheating society. I pay my taxes and try to do the right thing. So bring on more government oversight and control over the economy. But only if we also secure voting rights and have stronger protections against Trumpian destruction of government.

gruez 5y ago
>In 1982 I was advised not to use ATM machines because it would enable government surveillance of our spending. That was breathlessly silly, too. Isn't that what we have right now? The only thing they got wrong was that it wasn't caused by ATMs, it was caused by AML/CFT laws and people switching to using cards for payments.
- fineIllregister 5y ago
  I would assume that any transaction with a bank would be available to the government, even prior to the invention of the ATM.
yarky 5y ago
Cheating is a serious issue, but you won't stop it relying on more potential cheaters. And out of curiosity, what's been making you feel so safe around ATMs since 1982? COBOL ?
drewcoo 5y ago
> . . . not to use ATM machines because it would enable government surveillance of our spending. That was breathlessly silly, too. And how is that silly? It seems to be factual. > I am more worried about people cheating society. I pay my taxes and try to do the right thing. The funny thing about privacy is most people don't really notice it let alone treasure it until it's been violated. And anyone who wants to surveil us loves it when people shrug and say they have nothing to hide. It's a nice bandwagon slogan, applying social pressure. It shifts the burden from the watchers (why do they need the info?) to the watched (what do they have to hide?). It's a rotten rhetorical twist and deserves to be decried whenever it's used. > But only if we also secure voting rights Now I'm wondering if I misread sarcasm earlier. Poe's Law was written for this moment.
moltke 5y ago
Could they enfource that though? I don't think people realize how much of the labor is done without reporting. Prices would double overnight and many illegal immigrants would be unemployed. That seems like it would work strongly against everything they've done for the past few years. I'm pretty sure only well behaved outliers would be punished. (I'm not against paying taxes btw, I certainly pay mine.)

gruez 5y ago

>In 1982 I was advised not to use ATM machines because it would enable government surveillance of our spending. That was breathlessly silly, too. Isn't that what we have right now? The only thing they got wrong was that it wasn't caused by ATMs, it was caused by AML/CFT laws and people switching to using cards for payments.

fineIllregister 5y ago
I would assume that any transaction with a bank would be available to the government, even prior to the invention of the ATM.

yarky 5y ago

Cheating is a serious issue, but you won't stop it relying on more potential cheaters. And out of curiosity, what's been making you feel so safe around ATMs since 1982? COBOL ?

drewcoo 5y ago

> . . . not to use ATM machines because it would enable government surveillance of our spending. That was breathlessly silly, too. And how is that silly? It seems to be factual. > I am more worried about people cheating society. I pay my taxes and try to do the right thing. The funny thing about privacy is most people don't really notice it let alone treasure it until it's been violated. And anyone who wants to surveil us loves it when people shrug and say they have nothing to hide. It's a nice bandwagon slogan, applying social pressure. It shifts the burden from the watchers (why do they need the info?) to the watched (what do they have to hide?). It's a rotten rhetorical twist and deserves to be decried whenever it's used. > But only if we also secure voting rights Now I'm wondering if I misread sarcasm earlier. Poe's Law was written for this moment.

moltke 5y ago

Could they enfource that though? I don't think people realize how much of the labor is done without reporting. Prices would double overnight and many illegal immigrants would be unemployed. That seems like it would work strongly against everything they've done for the past few years. I'm pretty sure only well behaved outliers would be punished. (I'm not against paying taxes btw, I certainly pay mine.)