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| Economy |
| Swedish Government Agency Proposes A Retail Ban On Cash |
| 2010-06-07 |
| The head of the Swedish Work Environment Authority (Arbetsmiljöverket) has raised the prospect of a ban on cash in Sweden's retail stores to help tackle the growing problem of robbery. The authority's director-general Mikael Sjöberg refused to rule out the drastic measure in an interview on Wednesday. "You can't rule anything out, it just depends on how risky the situation is. We have very extensive possibilities to explore," Sjöberg told trade union publication Handelsnytt. The authority is set to conduct an inspection of 3,000 small stores across Sweden to chart opportunities aimed at improving the working environment. "It is not acceptable that people go to work in fear and concerned that they could be subject to a robbery, which does actually happen in this sector," Mikael Sjöberg said. The Work Environment Authority has previously pushed through cash bans on buses in Sweden after a spate of hold-ups. Robberies against retailers accounted for 9 percent of all robbery cases reported in Sweden in 2007, according to statistics from the National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå). From just under 400 cases per annum in 1987, the number of cases had more than doubled by 2007 after a peak in 2005. Judging from the comments, I don't think anybody's buying this cover story. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose |
| #7 So the robber doesn't demand cash... just material goods. Problem solved by government thinking. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2010-06-07 23:25 |
| #6 The people mostly have the right idea that it is a bad idea. It is important to see the difference...credit cards, debit cards, ET are all transactions; the next gen of writing a check if you will just faster, more convienant than filling out a credit application all the time etc etc. What this gov man is suggesting is getting rid of the physical barter unit of cash. Virtual Gold, actually more radical than the Carbon Credit which could laughably be considered a set amount until some volcano erupts. No physical barter cash means no governance on government. Also make it real interesting if some hacker gets into the system hmmmm. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2010-06-07 21:37 |
| #5 guess traditional law enforcement to cut down on the robberies is a non-starter in the social-utopia of Sweden |
| Posted by: abu do you love 2010-06-07 20:19 |
| #4 sounds to me that they're about to outlaw the "Money under he Mattress" savings plan. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2010-06-07 20:15 |
| #3 I'm reminded of the Martin Beck novels by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö that I read in the 1970s, There was an undercurrent of governmental creepiness depicted in those; ids required for purchasing liquor in liquor stores with monthly limits, officious police, and incompetent officials. It's nice to know things haven't changed. |
| Posted by: Eric Jablow 2010-06-07 18:42 |
| #2 The comments elsewhere about this story show a great distrust of government, in that they recognize that cash equals freedom, and electronic transfer means government control. Comments along the lines of "Pry the cash from my cold, dead fingers." |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2010-06-07 10:30 |
| #1 Fastest solve to the robbery problem is let shopkeepers have guns... |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2010-06-07 08:28 |