Ushering In a Totalitarian Police State in Cashless “Smart Cities”
- Ushering In a Totalitarian Police State in Cashless “Smart Cities”
by From Scandinavia to Amsterdam to India and elsewhere, the trend of going “cashless” is gaining traction.
–
We have been covering the shortcomings of what is rightly called the War On Cash here at TDV for a while now and have shown just how negative the effects can be on an unsuspecting nation’s people.
–
Chandigarh, India, which is the capital of the northern Indian states of Punjab and Haryana, is like one of India’s labrats. Indian officials are working hard toward making it into India’s first cashless city. This initiative is part of the Prime Minister of India’s call for state governments to begin developing what he’s calling “smart” cities. That means cities attached to the latest internet technology. However there is nothing intelligent about his plan.
–
One of the major changes being made to work toward that objective was the insistence of having all bills paid electronically at government offices within the city.
–
Similarly, in Panjim, the capital of Goa, India, the local government is attempting to incentivize the locals into paying digitally by offering them discounts on train tickets and other public transportation services if they pay electronically.
–
This is an extension of the ongoing cash battle which has been going on in India since November when Modi announced he was going to replace the 500 and 1000 rupee banknotes. However the government has not started replacements, only ensured the removal.
–
What followed the eradication of India’s largest denomination notes was a constricted Indian economy, particularly among the middle and lower classes who rely predominantly on cash transactions to conduct daily business.





end