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Austrian leader proposes enshrining the use of cash in his country’s constitution (apnews.com)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

While I do agree that cash is very handy, that sort of thing doesn't belong in a constitution.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Things like that are fairly normal in constitutions in Europe

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Have you got any examples? I checked the Spanish and Portuguese ones (because I can read the original text) and the Swiss one (which seems the most likely to do that sort of thing) and they don't mention something like that.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

For example the Swiss one includes this:

The Confederation shall ensure the adequate, universal and reasonably priced provision of postal and telecommunications services in all regions of the country.

So similarly it could say:

The Confederation shall ensure the adequate, universal and reasonable availability and acceptance provision of cash in all regions of the country.

Or let's look at this one:

[The Cantons] shall ensure the provision of an adequate basic education that is available to all children. Basic education is mandatory and is managed or supervised by the state.

Which could similarly read:

[The Cantons] shall ensure the availability of adequate forms of cash that is available to everyone. Acceptance of cash is mandatory and is supervised by the state.

There are also several articles where the Confederation shall encourage things (e.g. education in music and sport) or promote things (e.g. research) so it could also say to encourage/promote usage/acceptance of cash.

Anyway, we can write into our constitutions pretty much whatever we like. Unlike in the US where the constitution is considered untouchable, we essentially treat it like just another law book.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Education and access to communications are fundamental rights, unlike access to cash. You can live a perfectly normal life without ever touching a single coin.

Of course you can write that in the constitution, but that's just a populist measure of which the Swiss constitution is full of.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I didn't say it was the correct place, I just said it's common, to which you agree in your last sentence.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I just said it’s common, to which you agree in your last sentence.

It's common in Switzerland. You said it was common in all of Europe.