THE FUTURE OF MONEY
With the emergence of megabanks and the use of electronic cash [BUSINESS, April 27], what will stop institutions at simply monitoring our purchases? If an electronic cash card is programmable, it can be turned on and off with a simple line of code. It could be used to regulate what we can buy, when we can buy and whom we can buy from. A cashless society is not about freedom, as banks would have us believe; it is about controlling the consumer. Such a society would be the end of America and the beginning of a banking-corporate dictatorship. MARK WOODRAL Philomath, Ore.
If one little card is going to do everything for us, what's next? A microchip in the base of the skull? GEORGE M. CALLAHAN Cheyenne, Wyo.
Crime won't be reduced by taking cash out of the mix. Stealing will just become more sophisticated. We are already dependent on the mighty god of technology and electricity in ways that make me uncomfortable. We are putting all our eggs in one electronic basket. The servant is becoming the master. DYLENE CYMRAES Jessup, Md.
Financial risk is a laughable concept to those of us who have no assets to risk. What most Americans truly need is credit-card rates that reflect today's realities. I'd be happy to pay a small fee to a big company that could search the world for cheaper auto insurance and a less costly car loan. A true genius will make the most of the negative net worth of consumers and provide cheaper services. OMAR BARRAZA Seattle
Wide-ranging financial mergers are reaching the international stage. We need to slow down before we hit a technological iceberg. Are there enough lifeboats for a financial Titanic? What happens when there is a weeklong electrical-power failure? Will victims of mother nature be left to sink because they could not make a simple electronic transaction to buy bread and milk? HEATHER MCQUAY Pasadena, Md.
If the U.S. goes to a cashless society, America's underground economy will collapse. Are we sure the IRS isn't behind this? The underground I'm talking about is not drug dealers. I mean people who work for cash in order to get by. They hold jobs as lawn keepers, baby sitters, handymen, caregivers and so forth, and depend on payment in cash. I smell a political revolution in the making. RENEE PEARCE Mercer, Wis.
My paycheck is directly deposited. Payment for my mortgage, phone bills and electric bills is automatically withdrawn from my bank account. I make credit-card payments over the phone. When I pay my taxes, my refund is directly deposited. In my wallet I have one ATM card and one credit card. Managing money never has to be any simpler than this. And the average person isn't going to carry an e-cash card. ANDREW J. KIWIET Forest Park, Ill.
DON'T COMPEL PRAYER
I think it is great that young adults are taking their faith very seriously by making religion a part of their everyday life through the use of after-school prayer clubs [NATION, April 27]. But I hope that these individuals respect non-Christians as well as the beliefs of different denominations. Maliciously forcing religion on other students in school tends to soil the name of Christianity. And young Christians who want to spread their religion must make sure they are not harming others. SHELLEY PIENTKA Emporia, Kans.