@p >You cannot modify cash. Modifying cash is illegal.
Only attempting to spend modified cash is illegal.

You're free to shred up your cash if you want to or write on it just as long as you don't try to spend the modified versions.

>The BSA can't stop people from pirating software
Piracy is theft and murder with the help of a boat, which has no relevance to software.

The BSA can and does prevent many small and medium-sized businesses from getting away from using prohibited copies of software, as they have the habit of demanding "license audits" and offering a reward of up to 200,000 USD for employees who rat their employers out.

>You cannot do with it what you please, it can be legally seized, at any point you may be required to account for its presence or absence or face jail time.
This is true of any and all monetary systems and isn't specific of cash - cryptocurrencies and precious metals can also be legally seized and at any point you may be required to account for its presence or absence or face jail time.

Clearly I'm only really recommending cash for things like purchases in a local store - as stores don't accept gold or bitcoin do they?

For that, the choices are either cash, or credit/debit card (tied to a bank account).

Cash is a hell of a lot better than money in a bank account, as the government can't just freeze your account or make the magic number 0 - they actually have to physically go and steal it off you.

>It is the property of the government; it is proprietary, that's the definition
That is not the definition of proprietary - please don't twist the meaning of words.

>Exactly like prohibited copied software, the BSA isn't going to kick down your door for having downloaded Photoshop and the government isn't going to invoke asset forfeiture laws to take $100 out of your pocket
If the BSA finds out about your prohibited copy (it's rare, but not impossible) and smells profit, they will get your door kicked down and invoke other laws to take thousands of dollars from you, just like what they do to many businesses.

>Gold and other commodities fit the bill
Unfortunately, gold and other commodities are difficult to use for transactions, as having to cut the gold bar into pieces for change only goes so far.


Just because a copy of propriety malware is gratis, it doesn't magically become free - it's still malware.