Credit or debit cards for starters are nothing short of shoppers' Novocain. Even in the age of digital purchases and virtual money we still attach a special value to dirty paper with pictures of presidents on it. Handing some of that to a cashier simply hurts more than handing over a little sliver of plastic.
The government of the United States is a device for maintaining in perpetuity the rights of the people with the ultimate extinction of all privileged classes.