Morning Thoughts: Checks, Money, Archaic Banking

Wednesday April 19th, 2023

As I mailed a check for "estimated taxes" to the IRS yesterday, I realized that it was actually my last check... and I would have to order more checks.

So I went online and ordered a minimum order of 80 checks... which will likely last me for the next ten years.

Who Uses Checks, Anymore?

Which got me to thinking about how archaic the US banking and monetary system really is.

Back in my native Denmark, checks disappeared off the financial landscape at the end of 2016; there's no such thing as "paying by check" anymore. I don't think there were even "cashier's checks."

If you have to make payments or pay a bill, or send someone money you simply use your online banking or a person-to-person money app. And it's pretty much instant and extremely low cost.

On reflection, I guess part of the reason it works like that is that the level of mistrust of institutions and government is much lower in Denmark than in the USA.

Here in the US we seem to be mistrustful of pretty much anything and everything that is even remotely connected to authority and officialdom... regardless of whether that is justified or not.

Lack of Trust...

I found myself considering this whole "lack of trust" thing, in the context of what I wrote a few days ago about understanding — there's almost a whole cultural rift there.

It's hard for an American to contemplate an individual actually trusting the government; it's equally hard for a Dane to fathom why the government wouldn't be in service of looking out for the people's welfare.

Perhaps the most useful way for people to truly grok this is to spend a little time watching a few of the many YouTube videos of US citizens returning to the US after a decade abroad, and Europeans returning to their countries after a decade in the USA.

There's no "right and wrong" there; but once you've lived in and been fully immersed in a culture for 10 years or more, you start understanding the roots of cultural differences, rather than just the superficial cultural slurs presented by media/individuals who have only opinions, without direct experience.

But you have to be willing to understand; willing to consider that 'there might be something" that exists outside the comfortable walls of your own indoctrination.

In some cases, perhaps all people learn is about their own xenophobia!

Let Me Google That For You!

Answers — to life's conundrums, to simple questions, on how to do things — generally don't just drop out of thin air. Sometimes I'm amazed, though, by just how many people expect others to provide them with answers.

Not saying there's anything wrong with asking for help; that's not my point!

My point here relates to a general tendency among many people to not seek their own answers, when they encounter something that doesn't make sense.

Granted, I'm an old fart who grew up in an age before Google... but somehow I just never was imprinted with this notion that you should "just ask someone" rather than do your own research to get your answers.

Yeah, sounds a bit like crypto, doesn't it? "Do your own research!"

Why not apply that to all aspects of life?

Where's the "Easy Button?"

Back when we had the gallery, I would often have long conversation with the neighboring proprietor about the way many of her employees would eternally complain that working was "so haaaard!"

The general "flavor" was always that people seemed to expect everything in life to just magically appear out of thin air. And that we should all just be able to do whatever we want, whenever we want... and somehow the world would still continue to function and provide everything we need.

As far as I have been able to tell, there is no "easy button" on all this.

There really isn't.

Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation! I do my best to answer comments, even if it sometimes takes a few days!

---

Greetings bloggers and social content creators! This article was created via PeakD, a blogging application that's part of the Hive Social Content Experience. If you're a blogger, writer, poet, artist, vlogger, musician or other creative content wizard, come join us! Hive is a little "different" because it's not run by a "company;" it operates via the consensus of its users and your content can't be banned, censored, taken down or demonetized. And that COUNTS for something, in these uncertain times! So if you're ready for the next generation of social content where YOU retain ownership and control, come by and learn about Hive and make an account!

(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly and uniquely for this platform — NOT cross posted anywhere else!)
Created at 2023-04-19 18:46 PST
0804/2059