Since we are in the July 4th season we bring you a list of the best places to celebrate Independence Day compiled by our friends at WalletHub (https://wallethub.com/blog/4th-of-july-facts/22075) These cities were ranked based on 18 measurements related to how well they balance fun and cost. These metrics included the cost of beer, how long their fireworks displays last, and their July 4th weather forecast.

Based on these metrics, the best city in which to celebrate the birthday of the nation is Atlanta, Ga. The A is followed by the City by the Bay, San Francisco. Coming in third in the list is the City of Good Neighbors, the often overlooked Buffalo, NY.

Fourth in the July 4th sweepstakes is the birthday boy’s capital, Washington, DC. In fifth place is the always beautiful San Diego.

Places 6 through 10 are occupied by Madison, WI, St. Louis, MO, Milwaukee, WI, Orlando, FL, and Seattle, WA.

The WalletHub number crunchers also say that We the People plan to spend over 7 billion dollars on food this 4th. We are reputed to be the nation with the most overweight people so was there ever a doubt how we would spend the 4th. Eating our way from Massachusetts and Pennsylvania to Alaska and Hawaii. From Scrapple to Poi.

To soak up all that food we are told we will spend more than 1.6 billion dollars on beer. An estimate that places July 4th at the top of beer-guzzling holidays.

The WalletHub math whizzes figure we will spend over 800 million on fireworks this holiday.

With all those bottles of beer and bottle rockets be careful while celebrating. The statisticians predict that 2/3 of all fireworks injuries this year will occur within a month of the 4th of July.

So we have time for all that Bacchanalian eating and drinking we have FDR to thank. President Roosevelt in 1941 signed the bill that made the 4th of July a paid holiday. All that fun and you get paid for it.

Have a good time, but don’t be stupid. And don’t forget the reason for the season. Make time to take in a July 4th parade. Many veterans participate in them. Take time to thank them for their service.

Today, only 52 percent of Americans say they are proud to be American.

Digital Currency Solution May Legitimize Fringe Cannabis Industry

The evolving cannabis industry is pretty much a cash-only business which provides cannabis users and thus the industry as a whole with the mask of anonymity necessary to drive retail sales. And while some two-thirds of states have legalized the use of cannabis for medicinal or recreational purposes, the federal government which charters banks still considers cannabis an illegal drug. The specter of getting sideways with the federal government can limit the number of banks willing to take on cannabis customers.

Another drawback to this cash-driven business model is that businesses that throw off that much cash without the electronic audit trails provided by the banking system quickly will be subject to suspicions of money-laundering. This is another factor which can make it difficult for cannabis retailers or suppliers to find banks willing to provide banking services to them.

Because of such perceptions banks which are heavily regulated by the federal government may be reluctant to do business with the cannabis industry. The banking industry is itself driven by the Know Thy Customer policy which becomes the way banks view their customers. If a bank can’t know its customers and the customer’s business it may be reluctant to do business with that customer.

Such perceptions can make it more difficult for an industry that revolves around something many people did recreational in college to go mainstream and set up shop on Main Street.

The cannabis industry has a large footprint. Currently, 37 states and the District of Columbia  have legalized some form of marijuana use or possession. Nevertheless, marijuana remains illegal under federal law, hence the reluctance of federally regulated banks to get involved with the industry.

One enterprising company has stepped forward using modern banking technology, the electronic payment wallet, to step in where the banks have faltered. That company is Amercanex which bills itself as the first fully electronic cannabis marketplace.

Its CEO explains that Amercanex is is a real payment system with a regulatory framework that allows the government to regulate and collect taxes.

The Amercanex wallet, dubbed ACE Pay, provides an account and allows money to change hands electronically similar to PayPal.