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I know their are legalities I am not an expert in on finance, but my conspiracy theorist is bubbling up given the failed crypto bank, the SEC suing Binance and

by eggy 3y ago

I know their are legalities I am not an expert in on finance, but my conspiracy theorist is bubbling up given the failed crypto bank, the SEC suing Binance and Coinbase, and the US and world government move for traceable, government managed and controlled digital currencies. I was at the first HOPE in 1994[1] at the Penn Hotel in NYC when Eric Hughes (known for the Cypherpunk Manifesto) and others gave a talk on cryptography and how it would be part of a future of privacy and security for anonymous banking etc. I was so enthused about getting rid of the middle man (a minimum of 4 or 5 entities process your latte purchase at Starbucks and take a cut as well as track you and your data trail). Government doesn't like this. "What do you have to hide?" is a tired defense of prying eyes. Yes, there were a lot of bad fish in the pool, but the goal was and is still good in my book. [1] https://youtu.be/v5kayD5IQQU https://youtu.be/v5kayD5IQQU

throitallaway 3y ago
It's gotten to the point where political candidates (and politicians) have to cover their tracks when paying for things, lest they be criticized for their choices. If you ever want to run for office you'd better never use a credit card at a porn shop, McDonald's (it's unhealthy), etc. This applies to data that insurance companies harvest from as well. I used to be one of those people that said "I have nothing to hide and the conveniences outweigh the negatives", but I'm getting more and more cynical on data dragnets as I'm growing older.
timerol 3y ago
Do you pay cash at Starbucks?
- eggy 3y ago
  Sometimes, but I have been avoiding Starbucks unless I am 'renting' office space there. For a quick coffee the bodega, deli, or Dunkin. Some retailers have made it hard to pay cash by installing card only systems. Others have long lines for cashiers and self-checkouts sometimes only take card. It's painful to see young kids struggle with making change, because they are so used to the phone/computer figuring it all out for them.

by eggy 3y ago

throitallaway 3y ago

It's gotten to the point where political candidates (and politicians) have to cover their tracks when paying for things, lest they be criticized for their choices. If you ever want to run for office you'd better never use a credit card at a porn shop, McDonald's (it's unhealthy), etc. This applies to data that insurance companies harvest from as well. I used to be one of those people that said "I have nothing to hide and the conveniences outweigh the negatives", but I'm getting more and more cynical on data dragnets as I'm growing older.

timerol 3y ago

Do you pay cash at Starbucks?

eggy 3y ago
Sometimes, but I have been avoiding Starbucks unless I am 'renting' office space there. For a quick coffee the bodega, deli, or Dunkin. Some retailers have made it hard to pay cash by installing card only systems. Others have long lines for cashiers and self-checkouts sometimes only take card. It's painful to see young kids struggle with making change, because they are so used to the phone/computer figuring it all out for them.