From: Tim May <tcmay@got.net>
Date: Tue, 3 Feb 1998 11:35:51 +0800
To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
Subject: Re: The Continued Attack on Cash (Was: "The Right ofAnonymity"...)
In-Reply-To: <v03102801b0fbbc4d4735@[207.167.93.63]>
Message-ID: <v03102809b0fc3e0fc392@[207.167.93.63]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



At 6:42 PM -0800 2/2/98, Anonymous wrote:
>Tim May wrote:
>> The real solution is easy.
>
>
>Easier said than done.
>
>Designing digital cash software is easy.  (Several prototypes exist.)
>Getting people to accept it as having value is not.

The thrust of my arguments, in my several posts in this thread, has been
simply removing the laws which require True Names to be attached to
transactions, bank account, credit cards, etc.

No digital cash is needed.

The rest of Mr. Anonymous' argument is a straw man, based on the difficulty
of implementing digital cash.

When I say the real solution is easy, I mean it. Get rid of the laws
telling people how often and in what amounts they may take money out of
their bank account, get rid of laws telling banks they must narc out
customers who remove "too much" money, and get rid of any laws restricting
the use of names customers and their financial partners may use.

(BTW,  until these actions happen, no widespread use of digital cash is
likely to be accepted as legal. This has a lot to do, I think, with why
d.c. projects are moving so slowly.)

--Tim May


The Feds have shown their hand: they want a ban on domestic cryptography
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
ComSec 3DES:   408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Higher Power: 2^2,976,221   | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."