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In a Cashless World, You'd Better Pray the Power Never Goes Out (mises.org)
schwit1 quotes the Mises Institue: When Hurricane Maria knocked out power in Puerto Rico, residents there realized they were going to need physical cash — and a lot of it. Bloomberg reported that the Fed was forced to fly a planeload of cash to the Island to help avert disaster. "William Dudley, the New York Fed president, put the word out within minutes, and ultimately a jet loaded with an undisclosed amount of cash landed on the stricken island. [Business executives in Puerto Rico] described corporate clients' urgent requests for hundreds of thousands in cash to meet payrolls, and the challenge of finding enough armored cars to satisfy endless demand at ATMs... As early as the day after the storm, the Fed began working to get money onto the island."
For a time, unless one had a hoard of cash stored up in ones home, it was impossible to get cash at all. 85 percent of Puerto Rico is still without power... Bloomberg continues: "When some generator-powered ATMs finally opened, lines stretched hours long, with people camping out in beach chairs and holding umbrellas against the sun." In an earlier article from September 25, Bloomberg noted how, without cash, necessities were simply unavailable:
For a time, unless one had a hoard of cash stored up in ones home, it was impossible to get cash at all. 85 percent of Puerto Rico is still without power... Bloomberg continues: "When some generator-powered ATMs finally opened, lines stretched hours long, with people camping out in beach chairs and holding umbrellas against the sun." In an earlier article from September 25, Bloomberg noted how, without cash, necessities were simply unavailable:
"Cash only," said Abraham Lebron, the store manager standing guard at Supermax, a supermarket in San Juan's Plaza de las Armas. He was in a well-policed area, but admitted feeling like a sitting duck with so many bills on hand. "The system is down, so we can't process the cards. It's tough, but one finds a way to make it work."
Try buying a loaf of bread with a gold Doubloon. What are you expecting in change, Reales and Maravedis?
There is a reason why Charlemagne took Europe off of the Gold Standard for ~500 years. Gold was, at best, a Currency Of Account and kept in vaults, and utterly impractical for normal trade.
Let's face it, this had to happen eventually: Millennial slashdotters. Wait until they discover that you can listen to music without internet.
Open Source Network Inventory for the masses! Kuwaiba
Here in the US, guns are king. Ammo is king. With 300,000,000 guns in private hands, if the power goes out for any extended period of time, the guy who runs the crematorium will be king.
You are welcome on my lawn.
That guy is a witness, he must die. I quickly shoot him with my gun, then take any good/water he had on him.
You're not very good at these questions.
I'm going to flip this on its head. A credit card is fully usable without power.
No, I'm going to flip this on its head. In times of despair, the mathematician is king. Why? Because he can manually calculate and verify your beloved BTC transactions.
I'm not a complete idiot... Some parts are missing.
Try buying a loaf of bread with a gold Doubloon.
You can buy one from me, anytime.
Anything, no legal consequences?
I pimp all three out and get something I actually want.