Lots of people have been sounding the alarm bells on a cashless society, and what it means for your ability to purchase basic goods and services.
It’s also federal law that U.S. currency is a valid form of payment for “all debts, public charges, taxes, and due”.
So when the National Park Service said it would no longer accept cash, some citizens sued.
US National Parks Service sued for going cashless.
Not everyone likes plastic — or wants their transactions and whereabouts to be tracked in this country.https://t.co/LmDtShggaP
— Number 99 (@MmeBlackBalloon) March 20, 2024
Good.
Three people sued the National Park Service earlier this month for its policy not to accept cash payments at a growing number of locations.
Esther van der Werf of Ojai, California, Toby Stover of High Falls, New York, and Elizabeth Dasburg of Darien, Georgia, filed their lawsuit on March 6 after being prevented from paying in cash at various national parks, monuments and historic sites around the country. Citing a U.S. code that states U.S. currency is legal tender for all public charges, the lawsuit alleges that the park service’s cashless policy is in violation of federal law.
The park service instituted cashless policies at approximately 29 locations, according to the lawsuit. The plaintiffs said cash payments were refused at sites in Arizona, New York and Georgia.
The National Park Service argued that the cost of collecting and transporting cash made going cashless a better option. No, seriously:
The Park Service instituted cashless policies at a number of its locations in 2023, including California’s Death Valley National Park. In one news release regarding the cashless policy at Death Valley, the park service said that the $22,000 in cash collected by the park during the previous year took more than $40,000 to process.
“Cash handling costs include an armored car contract to transport cash and park rangers’ time counting money and processing paperwork,” the Park Service wrote in the news release. “The transition to cashless payments will allow the NPS to redirect the $40,000 previously spent processing cash to directly benefit park visitors.”
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Probably the first time in the history of government that they cared about how much they spend.
Federal Law:
“United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues. pic.twitter.com/PP9CrU7Nt7— StewMama✈ Cari- Radically Moderate (@StewMama71) March 20, 2024
The law is pretty clear on this.
Good! I couldn’t even buy a bottle of water at the County Fair last year- make them accept cash already! Doesn’t the note say good for all debts public and private?
— Fool on the Hill (@CatCatcher9455) March 21, 2024
Lots of places are going cashless, and we need to push back.
On the one hand, expecting visitors to pay $3 for $50 gift card seems insane to access a national park, but the $40K cost to handle $20k worth of cash is disconcerting and certainly explains why they don’t want to deal with cash.
— First Class Duck (@FirstClassDuck) March 20, 2024
Someone should dig into those numbers.
In France, the law requires traders to accept cash. US and UK law feebly only permit its use for the settlement of debts, allowing traders to avoid cash by warning in advance they won’t accept it. https://t.co/ru4ooO5Yuj
— Peter Hitchens (@ClarkeMicah) March 20, 2024
It’s weird.
This is fantastic. https://t.co/BXOidQ4fSM
— Meredith (@Opportunitweet) March 20, 2024
Yes, it is. We hope they win the suit.
It is your duty to resist cashlessness at every opportunity https://t.co/WDeN5yqpNP
— June Effin’ Cleaver (@isuckatwife) March 21, 2024
Yep.
Lots of people don’t carry cash. But a not insignificant number of people don’t have credit or even debit cards, and we all should be able to pay with cash for whatever reason we want.
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