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I've had to deal with credit card fraud on two occasions. Each involving several thousand dollars and many hours of time investment. People should be in contro

I've had to deal with credit card fraud on two occasions. Each involving several thousand dollars and many hours of time investment. People should be in control of their own money. The current system categorically absurd.

lotsofpulp 2y ago
>The current system categorically absurd. It seems like a decent solution that emerged without a federal government solution (could be better, but things progress incrementally). What is absurd is the lack of action on part of the federal government (which eventually filters down to voters) on developing electronic payments as resilient infrastructure, in conjunction with digital identity verification.
- osigurdson 2y ago
  What are you advocating for? A government credit card or something like that?
  - lotsofpulp 2y ago
    Electronic money accounts and ability to transfer money. People shouldn’t need to deposit their money at a bank or non governmental entity. For example, USPS could provide a constitutionally protected, inalienable right (not even if you go to prison) to an electronic money account, and you can send and receive via an email address or phone number. USPS because there are already physical USPS offices all over the country. No need for government to lend people money via credit card equivalents. Just obviate checking accounts at banks. Banks don’t have a purpose when money is just entries in a database anyway. Keeping money “safe” is no longer a physical thing to do. If a lender wants incentivize people to deposit money with them, then they have to compete by offering attractive interest rates. But then it will come with the risk of the lender losing your money, like any other investment.
    - DrillShopper 2y ago
      There's precident for this. The USPS ran one of the biggest savings banks in the country back when it was part of the US Government. That all ended in the 1960s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Savings_System https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Savings_S...
    - osigurdson 2y ago
      I would be leery of the high degree of centralization with such a scheme.
      - lotsofpulp 2y ago
        We already have the centralization. Except with no oversight of when and who you get banned by and why.

lotsofpulp 2y ago

>The current system categorically absurd. It seems like a decent solution that emerged without a federal government solution (could be better, but things progress incrementally). What is absurd is the lack of action on part of the federal government (which eventually filters down to voters) on developing electronic payments as resilient infrastructure, in conjunction with digital identity verification.

osigurdson 2y ago
What are you advocating for? A government credit card or something like that?
- lotsofpulp 2y ago
  Electronic money accounts and ability to transfer money. People shouldn’t need to deposit their money at a bank or non governmental entity. For example, USPS could provide a constitutionally protected, inalienable right (not even if you go to prison) to an electronic money account, and you can send and receive via an email address or phone number. USPS because there are already physical USPS offices all over the country. No need for government to lend people money via credit card equivalents. Just obviate checking accounts at banks. Banks don’t have a purpose when money is just entries in a database anyway. Keeping money “safe” is no longer a physical thing to do. If a lender wants incentivize people to deposit money with them, then they have to compete by offering attractive interest rates. But then it will come with the risk of the lender losing your money, like any other investment.
  - DrillShopper 2y ago
    There's precident for this. The USPS ran one of the biggest savings banks in the country back when it was part of the US Government. That all ended in the 1960s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Savings_System https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Savings_S...
  - osigurdson 2y ago
    I would be leery of the high degree of centralization with such a scheme.
    - lotsofpulp 2y ago
      We already have the centralization. Except with no oversight of when and who you get banned by and why.