"hf" == Hal Finney writes: hf> I don't agree with the extreme position that cryptography will hf> lead to the failure of the income tax and the destruction of the hf> government. hf> Consider: untraceable, anonymous transactions occur every day - hf> not through cryptography, but through simple cash purchases at the hf> local grocery store, gas station, department store, restaurant, hf> and so on. [ remainder of message deleted ] Cash need not remain as untraceable & anonymous as it currently is. If you look at a piece of US paper, there is the embedded strip (material?) on the left side giving the denomination and the computer-readable serial number in the upper right and lower left. All that's needed now is a law requiring merchants to scan bills as they come in and go out. Considering the federal activities in the banking world, such a law is not out of the realm of possibility. michael