I disagree. For a very large volume of very small transactions the time it takes to process 1 digital payment is a fraction of the time it takes to process 1 cash payment (and giving back change). For very small transactions in digital payment there’s no entering PIN, no confirming, no thinking and change giving, no opening cash registry or even putting it in a pocket or pouch, it’s incredibly fast nowadays. I don’t even have to put my card in the machine, just hold it in front of it, seller doesn’t have to count or give back, it saves enormous amounts of time.

You can buy sex toys or mushrooms and pay by card, no issue.

I do try to avoid places where I’m obligated to pay cash. I don’t want to collect coins, nor do I want to round up or tip up to round numbers to avoid getting coins.

Oh they can more than be happy with dying on the street when they’re sick. What hospital? Waves hand. There was no hospital!

Large majority of collected taxes serve just purposes in many countries.

Less taxes are payed on cash because plenty of shops don’t register every cash sale, but a card payment you almost can’t not register correctly. That is the sad real reason many smallish shops don’t want to accept cards: it becomes a lot harder to illegally avoid paying taxes on a substantial part of your business turnover.

The part everyone ignores is that the cash also has a price for the stores or anyone with a lot of money. They have to spend a lot more time, effort and money on security for their cash. After a while putting it under your mattress just doesn’t work anymore. And it costs you 1 - 2 % per received payment, but you also “save” 1 - 2% by having your money on an account where you get intrest on it while your under the mattress stash just becomes worth less and less purchasing power a lot faster… It’s a slight win for banks (waaaay less employees and offices), but the entire gain of electronic payment is definitely not benefiting only the banks, that’s oversimplifing things a lot.

Isn’t that the case in most countries? I’ve never seen in European offline shops different prices advertised based on payment method. They’d put up the annoying “cards only above 10 €” and such, but never “cash 9€, card 10€”

But some wealthy pockets with strong political connections got filled along the way during privatization and that’s all they cared about.

But Tailscale is free, works very easily and reliable and it is set up in minutes. I will only be motivated to look into all that when tailscale isn’t free and reliable anymore… I guess that will eventually happen at sometime in the future.

the issue is that this would only replace oil for electricity generation. They also need fuel for driving around cars and goods etc. To replace that too you don’t just need a lot more solar panels, converters etc but also a whole lot of very expensive electric cars and trucks. At very least a lot of electric (cargo) bicycles. Anyway, the amount of $$ needed to replace oil and not feel the blockade is probably a lot higher than $8bn.

I agree with the core of the article tho: wealthy developed countries paying poor countries peanuts amounts of money (in the big scheme of things) to transition almost fully to renewables is a no-brainer quick-win in a save the planet logic. Unfortunately most politicians and their electorate are very stuck in a geopolitical ‘my country yeah!!!’ logic and can’t grasp the idea that gifting a few billions worth of solar panels to a dirt poor nation actually benefits everyone in the world.

If the blockade ends, China steps in and sells them a big fat Belt and Road loan + a load of solarpanels, windturbines, EVs instantly. But they won’t step in as long as it’s a ‘hot’ situation. It’s a shame. You could even reason that it would be, long term, probably a lot more worth while for USA-taxpayers to fund solar on Cuba instead of funding the military ships, ammunition and sailors to blockade the countries’ ports. Just die already mr Trump, what’s taking you so long?

I would even say some drivers might be better drivers with hints of calming THC&CBD in their system…

There’s never going back. Nothing will ever be the same again, just like nothing was ever the same again after WTC attack and Iraq&Afghanistan invasion. EU will keep trying to be less dependant, the course is set, even if USA manages to elect a less insane president in a few years and manage to throw this abomination in jail or on an electric chair, it will not mean a return to what was before…