Re: Personal Experience with Cash Free Coersion.....
Its very disturbing to read your posts, so let me enlighten you a little on the situation in Scandinavia.
It is impossible to get paid by means of a paycheck, your salary goes straight into your bank-account. It has been like this for at least 10 years now... A growing number of banks are shutting down their branch offices, offering only online banking, and the only way you can get to your money, is through your VISA/debit-card. A new system of credit rating on a national basis, tracks your financial stability over time, monitoring i.e. how much taxes you pay, what your income is, how many times you've moved (If you move frequently, your credit goes down the drain), how many second notices you have recieved and the list goes on. You end up with a rating on a scale decided by the biggest credit-risk companies, and if you're below a certain threshold, you can't loan money for a home, new car, get a credit card etc. Now, this is hardly of any concern to me, as I rent a small apartement, don't own a car (or a drivers license for that matter), and I don't need/want credit cards. But I think it's symptomatic of a deep urge for massive control by the moneymaking-powers-that-be.
My library card is now electronic, registering all loans in a central database somewhere, which is frustrating because someone can monitor what books I've read. I take the bus almost daily, and they're replacing the old stamp-based monthly commute-cards with electronic ones. This means that I will have to swipe that card every time I get on a bus, silently registering my every move...
A new danish company are in the process of testing a new system that monitors where you are when attending festival etc. (i.e. the famous Roskilde Festival) by tapping into the Bluetooth chipset embedded in most cellphones.
Previously, you could buy pre-paid cellphone-subscriptions that didn't require registration, this offer has been outlawed by the norwegian government, as they now require you to register your address with the phone-company (and they verify that the address corresponds to the one linked to your social security number).
As a resident of a country under the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, I can travel to the U.S without getting a visa, but if I do, I am required to register my fingerprints, as well as having my picture taken, on arrival. I also have to waive any right to object, should I be refused entry for some reason (like if the officer on duty has a bad day).
Living off the grid will become increasingly difficult in the coming years, and although I fell relatively safe in this corner of the world, the prospect of surrendering more and more freedom is truly alarming.
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