In recent months, I have travelled through Europe and into the UK and spent time again in London.  I reflect on my ‘mission’ to spend a year without cash and yet it increasingly seems so hollow.  It is simply so meaningless to call out a time without cash when the reality is that we can easily function in this state.  This is not the problem.

I recently spent time at a function arguing with someone about going cashless, when in reality the ‘opponent’ agreed with my position by stating that he did not use cash!  My assumption was that in his industry he was a natural cash converter when the reality was not the case.

However, let me reflect on a challenge that conflicts with my social conscience, and hopefully yours:  I was in New York last week and checked out of the hotel, as you do, many hours before needing to be at the airport.  I left my bags at the hotel porter and went for a lovely stroll around NYC.

It was a very good day in New York and I felt really positive of the time that I was there.  I then realised that I needed to pick up my bags at the hotel and make my way to JFK.  I could not in all conscience pick up these bags and not remunerate that person for the job they had done.  This is a reality of life in the USA.  I had no cash with me (of course). People do not get paid for the job they do and people like you and I end up compensating these people with tips.  It is so inefficient.  It is so degrading.  But it so part of the fabric of American life.  Why?

So despite my principles around cash, of course I did the right thing around the good people looking after my bags at the hotel. I got cash out of the ATM to pay the people that looked after my bags.  And why wouldn’t you?  Except for the fundamental issue around efficiency in business, better employee relations, etc etc … Why is the land of the free and the brave not actually brave at all?

And when we see a debate today about a potential President of the United States that has no respect for anyone free or anyone brave and anyone that is female in this world.  What hope have we got?  None at all is my view but please let us try and start to change this.  Not just for women in this world, but what about all those others that do not get the respect for the job that they do?