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The Power of Cash: Why Using Paper Money is Good for You and Society
Why cash is worth preserving in an increasingly “cashless” society
Over the last thirty years, we have witnessed a rapid transformation in the way that people pay for goods and services. Where we used to use cash for all but our largest purchases, many people now prefer credit cards, debit cards, cryptocurrency, and electronic services like Venmo, PayPal, or Alipay. And that's not necessarily a good thing.
In The Power of Why Using Paper Money is Good for You and Society, Professor Jay Zagorsky, former advisor to the Boston Federal Reserve, delivers a startlingly insightful and eye-opening discussion of the harmful and unintended consequences of the demise of paper money. The author convincingly argues that cash is an essential and helpful tool that's worth preserving for the long run.
You'll learn why using cash makes it easier to control your spending, secures your anonymity and privacy against bad actors intent on stealing your data, mitigates the chaos of climate change and war, and helps the poor, vulnerable, unbanked, and disenfranchised to navigate society. You'll also
When business and governments can refuse to take your paper money How cash maintains your privacy and anonymity from tech companies, hackers, banks, and others How cash ensures companies cannot charge you a high “custom price” The potential dangers of giving governments control and knowledge of your spending How cash controls additional fees and costs associated with electronic purchases Perfect for anyone with an interest in the way we pay for the things we buy each and every day, The Power of Cash is also a must-read for people interested in the implications of a truly “cashless” society on personal finance, technology, politics, and social justice.
Over the last thirty years, we have witnessed a rapid transformation in the way that people pay for goods and services. Where we used to use cash for all but our largest purchases, many people now prefer credit cards, debit cards, cryptocurrency, and electronic services like Venmo, PayPal, or Alipay. And that's not necessarily a good thing.
In The Power of Why Using Paper Money is Good for You and Society, Professor Jay Zagorsky, former advisor to the Boston Federal Reserve, delivers a startlingly insightful and eye-opening discussion of the harmful and unintended consequences of the demise of paper money. The author convincingly argues that cash is an essential and helpful tool that's worth preserving for the long run.
You'll learn why using cash makes it easier to control your spending, secures your anonymity and privacy against bad actors intent on stealing your data, mitigates the chaos of climate change and war, and helps the poor, vulnerable, unbanked, and disenfranchised to navigate society. You'll also
When business and governments can refuse to take your paper money How cash maintains your privacy and anonymity from tech companies, hackers, banks, and others How cash ensures companies cannot charge you a high “custom price” The potential dangers of giving governments control and knowledge of your spending How cash controls additional fees and costs associated with electronic purchases Perfect for anyone with an interest in the way we pay for the things we buy each and every day, The Power of Cash is also a must-read for people interested in the implications of a truly “cashless” society on personal finance, technology, politics, and social justice.
343 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 24, 2025
6 people are currently reading
84 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 19, 2025
Can cash save the financial world?
Mr. Jay L. Zagorsky, the author of the book "The Power of Cash", certainly believes so, and provides readers with sound arguments in support of keeping cash around. In fact, he says that a completely cashless society would be harmful and would divide the classes of people further apart. Although Mr. Zagorsky loves the idea of a world with seamless payments and easy-to-process electronic transactions, he points out that this is not a realistic way of thinking about the financial system. It is much more complex than most people can fathom.
The author shares examples of when cash can literally save lives especially in times of natural disasters and wars. During any calamity that disrupts society, electricity and other power sources can shut down, rendering people who are used to paying for things via their phones or credit cards helpless. Such a situation would cause those people to regret that they didn't carry at least some cash to help themselves get around and purchase goods for survival.
Aside from emergency scenarios, he also shows how using electronic forms of payments are actually more expensive in the long run if it is the only means used to make purchases. Hidden fees abound that can slowly eat away at a person's savings, and forced charges on customers without another way to pay (i.e in cash) can cause them to lose trust in the modern financial system. And yes, many personal as well as historically documented examples are discussed by the author. Furthermore, younger generations may slowly lose the concept of money the more we move away from using cash as a mode of payment.
In essence, it is not about getting rid of electronic systems for payments. Instead it is about finding solutions for the two ways to pay to co-exist. And Mr. Zagorsky brilliantly makes the case for this in the book. Recommended reading!
Mr. Jay L. Zagorsky, the author of the book "The Power of Cash", certainly believes so, and provides readers with sound arguments in support of keeping cash around. In fact, he says that a completely cashless society would be harmful and would divide the classes of people further apart. Although Mr. Zagorsky loves the idea of a world with seamless payments and easy-to-process electronic transactions, he points out that this is not a realistic way of thinking about the financial system. It is much more complex than most people can fathom.
The author shares examples of when cash can literally save lives especially in times of natural disasters and wars. During any calamity that disrupts society, electricity and other power sources can shut down, rendering people who are used to paying for things via their phones or credit cards helpless. Such a situation would cause those people to regret that they didn't carry at least some cash to help themselves get around and purchase goods for survival.
Aside from emergency scenarios, he also shows how using electronic forms of payments are actually more expensive in the long run if it is the only means used to make purchases. Hidden fees abound that can slowly eat away at a person's savings, and forced charges on customers without another way to pay (i.e in cash) can cause them to lose trust in the modern financial system. And yes, many personal as well as historically documented examples are discussed by the author. Furthermore, younger generations may slowly lose the concept of money the more we move away from using cash as a mode of payment.
In essence, it is not about getting rid of electronic systems for payments. Instead it is about finding solutions for the two ways to pay to co-exist. And Mr. Zagorsky brilliantly makes the case for this in the book. Recommended reading!
May 17, 2025
I am not sure that I am ready or willing to abandon
My credit cards. But I learned a great deal about banking, cards, theft, service charges, and many other aspects of the card industry, and was given many examples of the power (and utility) of cash. Read it: you will learn things.
My credit cards. But I learned a great deal about banking, cards, theft, service charges, and many other aspects of the card industry, and was given many examples of the power (and utility) of cash. Read it: you will learn things.
Want to read
April 24, 2025WSJ
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews