Matters of privacy and secrecy

Why is the matter of privacy so often cast as one of secrecy? If someone is transferring tons of money illegally (think ISIS, e.g.), or is evading taxes, or some other such thing, many (including me) will maintain that they have no “right to privacy”.

But THAT’s not likely to affect many people. OTOH, why should we all reveal our total holdings to every hot dog vendor we patronize? If I have a million bucks in my Nano S, I’m happy to put fifty in my phone wallet for daily use. Let the vendor see that I have $47.50 remaining in my account – but that should be the end of it.

(In the material world, I keep a few loose dollar bills in my pocket. I grab one when I come across a panhandler, but I don’t take out a wad of bills and peel off just one for him.)

I’m waiting to hear how that’s going to be addressed. As it stands, I see no choice other than “secrecy coins”. I think that’s unfortunate, but that seems to be the way it is. Any thoughts on this topic will be appreciated.

(e.g. If I buy XMR for USD at 12:00 noon, then buy BTC with my XMR at 12:02, I’ll have to keep tax records of the XMR buy and sell transactions, not to mention the 20 times 'll have to make tax records of my $2.50 coffee. I HEAR about improved privacy in BTC, but I don’t know what’s involved.)