I guess I don't see what your point is. Like you, the government is going to find out I buy things like shoes and food and gasoline. They've got me now!??
If you don't want to use credit cards, then don't. There will always be a black or grey market in goods. Barter. Grow your own food. Get prepaid credit cards or gift cards. So many ways to circumvent this imagined government conspiracy tracking system you have concocted.
Do you sweep your cars regularly for gps tracker devices? Are you sure your house isn't bugged and that your phone isn't tapped? You don't use an unencrypted cell phone or portable phone to talk on, do you?
One purpose of a surveillance system is to track people's whereabouts. For example, suppose Joe Blow buys some twinkies at a 7-11. From the standpoint of surveillance, the important thing may be that Joe Blow is at the 7-11, not that he bought twinkies. This seems to be a scenario that pops up on TV cop shows quite frequently. For some reason, everyone seems to think that their shopping habits is the key point. Not necessarily.
You say that you can always circumvent the system by buying a prepaid credit card. Pray tell how? Remember that we're talking about a cashless society that uses credit cards to make purchases. If I had a credit card, why would I want to buy a prepaid credit card (remember the purchase of the prepaid credit card is linked to my credit card)? Perhaps you might argue that you could barter for the prepaid card with, say, chickens. I don't see it. Why would I want to sell you something that makes your life convenient, namely a prepaid credit card, for something that makes my life inconvenient, namely chickens? Barter only works if both parties want to barter.
You ask "Do you sweep your cars regularly for gps tracker devices?" I'll answer that with a question of my own. Why would I want to bother? I've arranged my life so that I can meet almost all of my daily needs by walking. I drive my car about one or twice a month. I spend $10 to $15 on gas about every 1.5 months. It wouldn't be cost effective to put a GPS tracking device on my car. But I use my credit at least once every 2 days. Tracking my credit card would be MUCH more cost effective.
You also ask "Are you sure your house isn't bugged and that your phone isn't tapped?" The answer is that I don't have a clue. I don't care. I live alone and don't talk to myself. I also hardly ever use the phone. Bugging my condo or phone would have revealed the following facts about me:
1) I like to watch "Burn Notice" on TV
2) I ordered some blood pressure meds from the local pharmacy (this was about the only voluntary phone call I made)
3) A politician called and asked for me to vote for him in the primary
4) A lady called and asked me if I wanted to sell my time share (I don't own a time share; I have no idea why she called me)
5) I get an average of 1,456,945.3 phone calls a month in which the caller elects to not leave a message and hangs up.
Once again, bugging my domicile wouldn't be very cost effective.
Another one of your comments: "So many ways to circumvent this imagined government conspiracy tracking system you have concocted." Who said anything about the government being involved? I didn't. I'll allow that the government could be involved but not necessarily. One scenario that has always bothered me is the possibility of a health insurance provider monitoring food purchases to evaluate one's dietary habits. You eat too many doughnuts, guess what? Your health insurance premium goes up. I'm just cynical enough about the health insurance industry to find this scenario plausible.
Let's suppose the government wants to get involved in the fun. What's attractive about a credit card system that supports the cashless society? At least two things:
1) It supports much of the infrastructure functionality needed for a surveillance system.
2) The private sector pays for it. No cost to the taxpayer. Cost effective. It's kind of like the phone system. The phone companies own it, but the government gets to use it for phone taps. What a deal.
At the very minimum, there would be a strong temptation for the government to get involved if the cashless society came to pass.