The Route Of All Evil

                                                                             

Yes, I know. This essay is supposed to be “For Worse Or For Better,” but while I was thinking about taxes it struck me that money should be discussed first. Money is a great concept. Even the stuff earned and used legally. And the original Constitution provides for taxes in order to provide money “to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence (sic) and general Welfare of the United States.”ⁱ And to pay debts, etc. you need money. Right?

Well, yes. In concept. But I think we're doing it wrong. According to legend,ⁱⁱ the devil invented paper money. They say that the devil is in the details, and this invention is one that really fouls things up. The old saw, “The road to Hell is the route of all evil”ⁱⁱⁱ certainly proves true here. (And coins are even worse. There's no more likely cause for a torn pocket than jingling change.) However useful money may seem to be, the reality is that we'd be far better off without it. Whatever good intentions may be associated with the love of money,^iv from a practical point of view there are serious problems.

One that's obvious is that everyone wants it. Including bad guys. Without cash, street crime and other robberies would be markedly diminished. Theft of valuables would persist,^v but they're likely to be more identifiable than unmarked bills. And bank robberies would make no sense if there's nothing to take. Money is a stimulus to crime, so let's get rid of it. Keep the little old ladies who walk the streets (and everyone else) safe.

Another problem with money is that illegal funds are easy to hide. Have you ever been asked by some tradesman to pay cash? “I won't have to charge you tax.” And, of course, he won't have to declare the income, nor pay the income tax that will result from reporting that income. That will create two criminals with a single transaction – two traveling along the fabled route of all evil. And it will cut down on government income.

In addition, unreported money can be laundered and transferred to some other storage place. Taking the cash and dealing with it creatively, you can all but make it disappear. All you need is the money and a cooperative bank. Especially if you know how to stay below reporting thresholds. Don't count on the banks, who make a fortune from such transactions, to stop transfers that they know to be shady.

That leaves the rest of us – the honest citizens and taxpayers – in the hole. Our taxes have to be raised because others have found ways not to pay theirs. We even have to pay for the officials who monitor^vi the banks that have been abetting these illegal practices.

It is also costly to pay for the printing of so many varieties of bills. And that's especially the case if all they do is cause mischief. If they're the invention of the devil, we don't need them.

So what's the solution? Eliminate money! Not conceptually but physically. If there were no bills to carry around, many of the problems I've described would be eliminated. The trick is to maintain our economy, the basis for our society, while decreasing society's risks and costs.

Unfortunately the way that this can be accomplished most efficiently is one that will have exponents of privacy and civil liberties, as well as liberals of all stripes (and conspiracy theorists), up in arms. They will be certain that this is only the first step^vii in the establishment of tyrrany and mind control. But in an age when our DNA is on record, along with our fingerprints, IP addresses, Social Security numbers, and so much additional information including our taxes; when Facebook, Twitter, and so many of the other social media, know more about us than we do ourselves; when facial recognition software can identify us and the GPS's in so many of our devices can locate us, no one should have any reasonable expectation of privacy. Big Brother is watching us. Get over it and move on.

The solution, then, is to institute a system of universal debit cards or something analogous. If all transactions, including salaries and sales, are carried out using these cards, and all our funds listed in a single account, the government can determine our income tax without our even having to file any form unless we want to submit information that we think will lower our taxes. And taxes will always be paid directly without risk of late payment and the fees and penalties arising from that.  Additionally, the government may collect the fees for the cards.  It would be quite a money maker and possibly lower our taxes.

Our incomes will go to the account represented and all purchases will be debited from it. We can be given a warning when we approach a preset lower limit of savings – perhaps enough to pay our income taxes.^viii Additionally, the card can serve as a credit/debit card for other purposes and licenses^ix (eg driver's, gun, professional) can be integrated into it, as can a passport.

Of course there will be the concern about stolen cards and their misuse, but they can be countered by the requirement for some biometric input that will prevent their use by someone not registered for the account in question. The loss of a card may be damaging, but so is the loss of a wallet now, and a mechanism of rapid replacement can be implemented using the biometric as an identifier.^x And other uses will certainly be identified.

There will be problems and objections in addition to the loss of privacy. Credit card companies will object to the nationalization of their industry as will tax preparers, but the cost of government will go down, bills will be paid on time, and individuals will be better able to stick within their budgets and save money. And I wouldn't be too worried about the commercial companies that are crying. Private enterprise will find a way to make a profit in the new environment. They always do.

The only ones who may need special treatment are the kids. We'll have to have change and one dollar bills. How else can you get candy?

Next episode: “For Worse Or Better” – We'll try again.

i      Subsequent additions and interpretations allow the government to use tax money for many additional projects including payroll-padding, welfare, aiding their supporters, and the like, but taxes will be discussed at another time.

ii     Faust and elsewhere.

iii    Or something like that.

iv     “When I'm rich I'll help everyone.” And if you believe that ...

v      Of course the market for such goods will be diminished. Someone who wants to keep a stolen item so he can look at it, like an artwork or rare baseball card, will do so. But that works only if he steals it for himself. If someone else does so and he wants to buy it, he'll have more difficulty.

vi     Or are paid off by them.

vii    It's hardly the first step. People have been gathering data on you for years. Collectors include the government, pollsters, everyone with a URL requiring you to sign in, and probably your neighbor who has videotaping capability on his “smart” phone (in fact his phone is probably smarter than he is), and all the snoopy people in your life.

viii   Including state and local taxes.

ix     No, not artistic or poetic.

x      Such biometric identifiers could also be used for ATMs, but the system would eliminate the need for them altogether.