Can the U.S. Go ‘Cashless?’

Cash is dirty, inconvenient, and so last century. Some 70% of Americans under age 50 think its days are numbered. But we still need those greenbacks, if as an alternative to banks. More than 4% of households are “unbanked,” and three times as many are “underbanked,” meaning bank services mostly don’t work for them, so rely on services like check cashers or payday lenders. And that's before you get to the racial disparities in who banks approve for credit. Reviving banking services at the post office might be one way to help the unbanked and keep from handing yet more power to the finance sector.  Chapters: 00:00:48 Announcements 00:02:30  Retcon: Semiquincentennia  00:03:35 Terms & Conditions: ChexSystems, Unbanked 00:05:46  Big Pilcrow: What’s keeping the U.S. from going cashless? 00:38:28  Executive Orders: Regulate youth sports schedules; Airline baggage fees by weight. 00:40:56  Spiritual Sponsors: Artemis splashdown; Friends with season tickets. Donate to Optimist Economy: https://optimisteconomy.com Video clips available at the Optimist Economy YouTube channel⁠⁠. We’re also on Instagram at ⁠⁠@optimist_economy or TikTok at ⁠⁠@optimist_economy. You can also search for us on Facebook and chat with other Optimists on Substack. Consume leisure while donning Optimist merch: https://merch.ambientinks.com/collections/optimisteconomy Have a questions for our next Q&A? Send it to optimist.economy@gmail.com