Here are some arguments in favour of the Interac Direct Payment system:

IT IS SAFER THAN CARRYING CASH, AND IF YOUR CARD IS LOST STOLEN, ANOTHER PERSON CANNOT USE IT UNLESS HE OR SHE KNOWS YOUR PIN.

The bankers regularly play upon people's fears of being robbed to promote their debit cards. If we had a righteous justice system, we wouldn't be fearful of robbers, because they would be justly punished for their crime, and the possibility of being robbed would be reduced. A sophisticated hacker might find a way to extract your PIN from your debit card, and then he could it to wipe out your entire bank account. The possibility of this is remote, but as debit cards become more common, it is not improbable. A criminal who absconds with your cash only gets way with what was in your wallet or your purse; he cannot access your account.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO MAKE FREQUENT TRIPS TO YOUR LOCAL BANK MACHINE TO WITHDRAW MONEY.

Anticipate how much money you need, and add a little extra for unexpected expenses. If you still need more money, then go to the bank and withdraw it. The convenience that debit cards give you may lead to impulse spending. People should be responsible for their own finances, and they should not allow a machine to do it for them.

RETAILERS DO NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT CARRYING LARGE SUMS OF CASH TO THE BANK, AND THE BURDEN OF HANDLING AND COUNTING A LOT OF CASH IS REDUCED.

Read on...

One problem with electronic money is that it doesn't really exist; it's all a psychological deception. Paper money is itself a fraud, because it isn't really money, but a representation of money.

Throughout history, real money have been gold and silver coin. The gold or silver had to be mined, refined, and minted into coins. This, plus the rarity of the metals, is what gives them their value. In the past, you could go into a bank and exchange your dollar notes for the same amount in gold.

The United States Code, Title 12, Section 152 says:

"Lawful money of the United States shall be construed to mean gold and silver coin..."

It does not say that lawful money is electronic data inside a computer.

A dollar is a measurement of a certain amount of gold and silver. We use notes because they are more convenient to carry than large amounts of gold. Although paper money is a fraud, it at least exists, and some energy has to be expended in order to create them. Electronic money, however, is simply data inside a computer; it does not physically exist. With paper money, bankers could create an unlimited supply of money, as long as they had the paper to produce their notes. With electronic money, bankers can literally create an unlimited supply of money, out of thin air, by typing an amount into a computer.

Another problem with an electronic economy is that you will have no privacy, and you will be at the mercy of the people who control it. Cash is more cumbersome than electronic money, and there is a danger that it can be stolen from you. However, it gives you freedom and privacy. If you pay with cash, no one knows about your transaction except you and the business you are dealing with. With electronic money, all of the details of your sales and purchases are known by the people who control the electronic money system. They will know how much you have spent, where you shopped, and the time and date of your purchase. By keeping records of your purchases and sales, they have a detailed picture of your private life.

In an electronic economy, your "paycheque" will be deposited directly into your bank account. The government will know exactly how much you have made, and it will know how much income tax you have to pay. There will be no opportunity to "fiddle" your taxes.

I DO NOT advocate illegal activities, but the government STEALS money from honest people, in the form of high income taxes, and then it wastes our hard-earned tax dollars. If the government didn't burden the Canadian people with excessive, ruinous taxes, more people would "pay their taxes with a smile."

Big businesses will know your spending habits, and they will use this information to send you promotional information (read, junk mail) that is connected to your spending habits. If you order books or material from politically incorrect organizations (such as a militia, or a tax protestor's group), the government and law enforcement agencies will know immediately that you are a political dissident.

Electronic money is a fraud that will ultimately enslave all of us to a computer. Unfortunately, people have welcomed it with open arms, and soon it will completely replace cash. St. John tells us the result of this deception:

"And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six."

- Revelation, 13:16-8. (KJV)

Christopher Saunders is the former System Administrator of "Politically Incorrect" Bulletin Board System, one of the first Freedom of Speech BBS systems in Canada.