Aldan thought it was a bad idea to have a surplus as this would not stimulate the economy. But Aldan must have missed reading the last line where I state that "cost-carrying money provides a compelling incentive to spend it rather than hoard it." In this way the economy is stimulated much more than deficit spending or quantitative easing.

So the surplus can be used to retire debt and the need to raise taxes.

Aldan also missed that the issue of cost carrying money was to build infrastructure to create jobs and/or pay welfare to reduce the need for taxes and debt!

Aldan suggestion of avoiding $A would not work as any conversion of $A or back again would be tagged and so identified.

Yes thinkabit; and while everything you say is probably true?
At some point someone is going to be left holding the parcel and wanting to turn it into legal tender, to buy a car, put a down payment on a house etc!

And a small black market may be tolerated and useful, if monitored to see what known/petty crims are still getting up to?

For mine the easiest non currency to explain away, has to remain casino chips!

And given these things can be controlled by possible untouchable criminal master minds, as is said to occur in (the house always wins) Vegas, the most difficult to uncover or prove any wrong doing!

I mean someone can be told to go to a particular high roller table and play a certain predetermined number of whispered in the ear combinations or routines, and seem to be on a winning streak for around dozen plays or hands?

Ditto some horse racing meetings, where a bookie marks your betting guide?

Who could prove anything but a serious winning streak and possibly carried out under the very noses of a dozen or more credible witnesses?

I'm sure we will never entirely eliminate the black market or the tax avoidance it supports?

All I'm suggesting is removing from inherently honest folk any possible credible reason to cheat on tax, given actually paying it, could be a cheaper option?

Anyway, what happens when thieves fall out and one gets even by shopping the other! Ditto after the divorce and a scorned woman out for revenge/a bigger share/custody of the Kids/whatever?
Rhrosty.

Shann, I admit that by punishing the public for saving your plan would be more stimulatory than deficit spending would normally be. There is of course no technical reason why deficit spending could not match that, but such a ridiculous amount would be very highly inflationary and certainly worth avoiding. By not being able to actively direct spending into depressed areas, your plan would actually be more inflationary than that.

Never mind about converting to another currency and back — once people convert their Aussie dollars to US dollars (for example) they'll keep them (as a much better store of value) and they'd soon become a more attractive currency for trading, making the Aussie dollar far less valuable.

Your solution to an imaginary problem would be a recipe for ruin.

No end to evil.

Such a monetary system already exists - in prisons.

So now that Big Brother admits his incompetence, that he has problems balancing his budget, we are all expected to suffer for his sake and be forced to use these filthy electronic devices just to survive and buy food.

Instead of pushing us into virtual existence away from being in touch with the real physical world, we should do away with Big Brother - it is time to close down this cancerous growth called "Australia" (the state, not the actual land and its people) so that ordinary people can live in freedom and peace on this continent.

Shann Turnbull makes no mention of the real black economy ie of Central Banksters and their minions creating our money as debt. It is legalised counterfeiting on a monumental scale which presently is destroying the economies of the planet.

Private Bankers should not be allowed to create money from nothing as debt.

I wonder if the author of the article has considered that it might even result in a larger black market if we went digital (personally, I think it most likely that it would shrink, but you can't be sure).

The reason why the black market might would become more attractive to your average citizen is because most people don't wont the government nor banks to know in detail all that they have ever bought. I know I wouldn't like it if the government knew exactly when, where and what I spend money on even though the stuff I buy is legal. I think it would push me enough to investigate other options like anonymity enhanced crypto-currencies instead of using Australian dollars.