To the Chicago restaurant industry

I'd like to write a short, open letter to many of the fine restaurants and bars in the city of Chicago (and wherever else):

Join the fucking 21st century. The concept of consumer credit has existed for centuries, and the credit card itself, in various forms since the early part of the 20th century. In the 1950s credit and charge card companies began issuing cards to folks for use to make purchases at retailers and restaurants--Diners Club was the first independent card. Note what the fuck it was called: Diners Club. Because people want to use these goddamn things in restaurants. Since debit cards became widely available and convenient in the 90s, the use of cash has been declining:

There is evidence that paper money is being used less often, according to the Federal Reserve. Though cash payments are difficult to track, the number of noncash transactions in the United States grew from fewer than 250 a person in 1995 to more than 300 in 2006. Data on the stock of small-denomination bills and destroyed bills indicates that the use of cash peaked in the mid-1990s and has been declining since, two economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland found.

And now there's an app and scanner for cellphones that can read credit cards. Do you realize what this means? Now bookmakers, prostitutes, and drug dealers can theoretically accept your Master Card in exchange for their products and services.

So tell me why, when you've gone to all the hassle of obtaining a liquor license from the city of Chicago, all the various permits and other bureaucratic nonsense that it takes to open a restaurant in this town, you insist that your customers not have the convenience of paying for their meal with a credit or debit card? To you I say, fuck your bogus wannabe taco stand. I am going across the street to spend my money where I am valued as a consumer, whether I have cash in my pocket or not.