4 ms·

> If actually everyone do this, we will even have an ID number that's not SSN. I had a similar thought but about a bank account. So apparently the Federal Res

by pooper 4y ago

> If actually everyone do this, we will even have an ID number that's not SSN. I had a similar thought but about a bank account. So apparently the Federal Reserve got into a lot of trouble for just considering giving every person a bank account but what if we actually do it using the post office infrastructure? The post office is secure enough to handle your passport. Why not your money?

Aspos 4y ago
They got into trouble not because the idea is stupid, but because many banks will quickly become redundant. Centralized postal banking is not a new concept and actually is a long-term trend.
mushbino 4y ago
Sanders has been trying to build support for the idea for years. It's a great idea, imo. https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/10/bernie-sanders-lets-turn-post-offices-into-banks/411589/ https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/10/bernie-...
seanmcdirmid 4y ago
Isn’t that like Switzerland’s postal banking service?
ThunderSizzle 4y ago
I dont trust the USPS to not lose my passport. I always had a bad feeling when placing it in, knowing how many times they screw up on everything else. Regardless, I dont want the federal government to be even more nationalized. How do I even begin to disagree with the IRS, for example? On top of that, I thought nationalism was bad?
- pooper 4y ago
  > How do I even begin to disagree with the IRS, for example? Have you ever had a bad interaction with the IRS? If so, it is probably because the IRS is chronically underfunded. Anecdotal but among the people I know, the consensus is the people at IRS are very kind. Contrast that with the people at a state, any state, Department of Revenue. You do not want to make those people mad. In any case, the answer is as I'm sure you know, to get a lawyer. I am so saddened by comments like these which come from a position of privilege. They don't know nor understand the kind of pain people go through. A friend of mine can't get a bank account because her father wrote bad checks in her name. She refused to make a police report (he was already in jail).
  - ThunderSizzle 4y ago
    To be snarky, I have a bad interaction with the IRS every time I get my paycheck. I also have a bad interaction with them every year when I have to tell them how much I owe them down to the dollar correctly under penalty of law. Failure to do so is also a penalty of law. Yeah, fantastic experience.
    - pooper 4y ago
      I think you already know both of these things are handicaps forced by the US Congress.
alexjm 4y ago
Small savings accounts at your local post office used to be a thing in the US, back in the days when banks mostly catered to wealthy urban customers, and seems to have done elsewhere too: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Savings_System https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Savings_S...> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postal_savings_system https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postal_savings_system> Seeing the high fees that some banks charge, I'd love to see USPS savings accounts come back as some low-fee competition.

by pooper 4y ago

Aspos 4y ago

They got into trouble not because the idea is stupid, but because many banks will quickly become redundant. Centralized postal banking is not a new concept and actually is a long-term trend.

mushbino 4y ago

Sanders has been trying to build support for the idea for years. It's a great idea, imo. https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/10/bernie-sanders-lets-turn-post-offices-into-banks/411589/ https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/10/bernie-...

seanmcdirmid 4y ago

Isn’t that like Switzerland’s postal banking service?

ThunderSizzle 4y ago

I dont trust the USPS to not lose my passport. I always had a bad feeling when placing it in, knowing how many times they screw up on everything else. Regardless, I dont want the federal government to be even more nationalized. How do I even begin to disagree with the IRS, for example? On top of that, I thought nationalism was bad?

pooper 4y ago
> How do I even begin to disagree with the IRS, for example? Have you ever had a bad interaction with the IRS? If so, it is probably because the IRS is chronically underfunded. Anecdotal but among the people I know, the consensus is the people at IRS are very kind. Contrast that with the people at a state, any state, Department of Revenue. You do not want to make those people mad. In any case, the answer is as I'm sure you know, to get a lawyer. I am so saddened by comments like these which come from a position of privilege. They don't know nor understand the kind of pain people go through. A friend of mine can't get a bank account because her father wrote bad checks in her name. She refused to make a police report (he was already in jail).
- ThunderSizzle 4y ago
  To be snarky, I have a bad interaction with the IRS every time I get my paycheck. I also have a bad interaction with them every year when I have to tell them how much I owe them down to the dollar correctly under penalty of law. Failure to do so is also a penalty of law. Yeah, fantastic experience.
  - pooper 4y ago
    I think you already know both of these things are handicaps forced by the US Congress.

alexjm 4y ago

Small savings accounts at your local post office used to be a thing in the US, back in the days when banks mostly catered to wealthy urban customers, and seems to have done elsewhere too: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Savings_System https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Savings_S...> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postal_savings_system https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postal_savings_system> Seeing the high fees that some banks charge, I'd love to see USPS savings accounts come back as some low-fee competition.