the War on Cash

**Black Heart** · 17-02-2016, 04:48 PM

Momentum is gaining. The ECB wants to end the 500 Euro note and is calling for ending the 100 and50 also. Now Larry Summers who is "so smart" adds in for the Franklin. If this happens, every single transaction in the world can be traced and monitored. If you sell a fishing pole to your neighbor for $10 it will be recorded.

Larry Summers Launches The War On Paper Money: "It's Time To Kill The $100 Bill

Yesterday we reported that the ECB has begun contemplating the death of the €500 EURO note, a fate which is now virtually assured for the one banknote which not only makes up 30% of the total European paper currency in circulation by value, but provides the best, most cost-efficient alternative (in terms of sheer bulk and storage costs) to Europe's tax on money known as NIRP.

[IMG]

That also explains why Mario Draghi is so intent on eradicating it first, then the €200 bill, then the €100 bill, and so on.

We also noted that according to a Bank of America analysis, the scrapping of the largest denominated European note "would be negative for the currency", to which we said that BofA is right, unless of course, in this global race to the bottom, first the SNB "scraps" the CHF1000 bill, and then the Federal Reserve follows suit and listens to Harvard "scholar" and former Standard Chartered CEO Peter Sands who just last week said the US should ban the $100 note as it would "deter tax evasion, financial crime, terrorism and corruption."

Well, not even 24 hours later, and another Harvard "scholar" and Fed chairman wannabe, Larry Summers, has just released an oped in the left-leaning Amazon Washington Post, titled "It’s time to kill the $100 bill" in which he makes it clear that the pursuit of paper money is only just starting. Not surprisingly, just like in Europe, the argument is that killing the Benjamins would somehow eradicate crime, saying that "a moratorium on printing new high denomination notes would make the world a better place."

Yes, for central bankers, as all this modest proposal will do is make it that much easier to unleash NIRP, because recall that of the $1.4 trillion in total U.S. currency in circulation, $1.1 trillion is in the form of $100 bills. Eliminate those, and suddenly there is nowhere to hide from those trillions in negative interest rate "yielding" bank deposits.

So with one regulation, the Fed - if it listens to this Harvard charlatan, and it surely will as more and more "academics" get on board with the idea to scrap paper money - could eliminate the value of 78% of all currency in circulation, which in effect would achieve practically the entire goal of destroying the one paper alternative to digital NIRP rates, in the form of paper currency.

That said, it would still leave gold as an alternative to collapsing monetary system, but by then there will surely be a redux of Executive Order 6102 banning the possession of physical gold and demanding its return to the US government.

Here is Summers' first shot across the bow in the upcoming war against U.S. paper currency, first posted in the WaPo:

It’s time to kill the $100 bill

Harvard's Mossavar Rahmani Center for Business and Government, which I am privileged to direct, has just issued an important paper by senior fellow Peter Sands and a group of student collaborators. The paper makes a compelling case for stopping the issuance of high denomination notes like the 500 euro note and $100 bill or even withdrawing them from circulation.

I remember that when the euro was being designed in the late 1990s, I argued with my European G7 colleagues that skirmishing over seigniorage by issuing a 500 euro note was highly irresponsible and mostly would be a boon to corruption and crime. Since the crime and corruption in significant part would happen outside European borders, I suggested that, to paraphrase John Connally, it was their currency, but would be everyone’s problem. And I made clear that in the context of an international agreement, the U.S. would consider policy regarding the $100 bill. But because the Germans were committed to having a high denomination note, the issue was never seriously debated in international forums.

The fact that — as Sands points out — in certain circles the 500 euro note is known as the “Bin Laden” confirms the arguments against it. Sands’ extensive analysis is totally convincing on the linkage between high denomination notes and crime. He is surely right that illicit activities are facilitated when a million dollars weighs 2.2 pounds as with the 500 euro note rather than more than 50 pounds as would be the case if the $20 bill was the high denomination note. And he is equally correct in arguing that technology is obviating whatever need there may ever have been for high denomination notes in legal commerce.

What should happen next? I’d guess the idea of removing existing notes is a step too far. But a moratorium on printing new high denomination notes would make the world a better place. In terms of unilateral steps, the most important actor by far is the European Union. The €500 is almost six times as valuable as the $100. Some actors in Europe, notably the European Commission, have shown sympathy for the idea and European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi has shown interest as well. If Europe moved, pressure could likely be brought on others, notably Switzerland.

I confess to not being surprised that resistance within the ECB is coming out of Luxembourg, with its long and unsavory tradition of giving comfort to tax evaders, money launderers, and other proponents of bank secrecy and where 20 times as much cash is printed, relative to gross domestic, compared to other European countries.

These are difficult times in Europe with the refugee crisis, economic weakness, security issues and the rise of populist movements. There are real limits on what it can do to address global problems. But here is a step that will represent a global contribution with only the tiniest impact on legitimate commerce or on government budgets. It may not be a free lunch, but it is a very cheap lunch.

Even better than unilateral measures in Europe would be a global agreement to stop issuing notes worth more than say $50 or $100. Such an agreement would be as significant as anything else the G7 or G20 has done in years. China, which is hosting the next G-20 in September, has made attacking corruption a central part of its economic and political strategy. More generally, at a time when such a demonstration is very much needed, a global agreement to stop issuing high denomination notes would also show that the global financial groupings can stand up against “big money” and for the interests of ordinary citizens.

* * *

And then there was this from Bloomberg:

Lawrence Summers urged countries around the world to agree to stop issuing high-denomination banknotes, adding his voice to intensifying criticism of a practice alleged by police to abet crime and corruption.

“Even better than unilateral measures in Europe would be a global agreement to stop issuing notes worth more than say $50 or $100,” Summers said on his blog on Tuesday. “Such an agreement would be as significant as anything else the G-7 or G-20 has done in years.”

The 500-euro note has been in circulation since the paper currency went live in 2002. British banks and money-exchange services stopped distributing the bills in 2010 after a report showed that 90 percent of demand for them came from criminals. ECB Executive Board member Yves Mersch said earlier this month that his institution still wanted to see “substantiated evidence” that the notes facilitate illegal activity.

For now, “I’d guess the idea of removing existing notes is a step too far,” Summers wrote. “But a moratorium on printing new high-denomination notes would make the world a better place.”

* * *

First they came for the $100 bill and nobody said anything...

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-....-kill-100-bill

**harrybarracuda** · 17-02-2016, 05:23 PM

I have no problem getting shot of the 500 euro note, it really was only a vehicle for drug cartels and other organised crime.

But $100 isn't even a quiet night out, so that's a bit stupid.

**Kurgen** · 17-02-2016, 09:52 PM

Too many bent politicians to drop the dollar.

**Dapper** · 17-02-2016, 11:10 PM

Have you just figured this out brownfart?

**Black Heart** · 17-02-2016, 11:42 PM

A "War on Cash" (Oh no, not another war against some noun) or is it just changing financial & transaction technology and the adapting to it?

The War on Cash: A Country by Country Guide
James Corbett

Corbett Reporteers will be no stranger to the war on cash. I’ve made videos discussing it, conducted interviews about it, written articles examining it and dissected it on the radio.

The war has been waged through mainstream propaganda outlets, TV advertisements and even children’s games.

We’ve heard cash is dirtied by drug dealing, tarnished by terrorism, tainted by tax evasion (heaven forbid!) and just plain dirty. Not to mention sooooo outdated.

Just this week Norway has jumped aboard the cashless society agenda with DNB, the country’s largest bank, calling for a total end to cash. The story only sounds shocking because people haven’t heard the similar stories from Sweden or Denmark or India or Israel or any of the dozens of other countries whose banksters and (bankster-controlled) governments have openly lusted after a world of completely trackable, completely bank-controlled transactions.

But all of these stories, reported piecemeal here and there over the years, doesn’t give the full story about how this “war on cash” is being waged on every continent and in every country by the same banksters that stand to benefit from a cashless world. Let’s fix that by compiling a list of examples from around the world of how cash payments are being regulated, restricted and phased out. The list below will be updated as new stories come in.

The Cashless Society List

CANADA – In 2007 the Canadian government stopped allowing payment of taxes in cash at government service centers. In 2010 Passport Canadafollowed suit. In 2011 56% of Canadians polled said they were happy to live in a bankster-controlled cashless society so the countrykilled the penny in 2012 and the Royal Canadian Mint started pimping the “MintChip” as a new form of electronic payment that will be “better than cash.” The Mint ended the program in 2014 but the Great White North is still on track to be a cashless society in the coming years.

DENMARK – In the 1990s about 80% of Danish retail purchases were made with cash, but these days it’s more like 25%. But if the Danish government has its way, that number will be 0% by 2030. That’s the year the Danish government has set for the complete elimination of paper money in Denmark.

FRANCE – In the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attacks last year, the French government stepped up its war on cash. In March of last year, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin declared it necessary to “fight against the use of cash and anonymity in the French economy” in order to combat “low-cost terrorism.” As of September 2015 it is illegal for French citizens to make purchases exceeding 1000 euros in cash.

INDIA – India is one of the most cash-dependent economies in the world with a cash-to-GDP ratio of 12% almost four times that of fellow BRICS nations Brazil and South Africa). But it won’t be for long if the Indian government has its way. Last June the Indian Ministry of Finance posted a draft proposal to its website for facilitating the rise of cashless payments in the country. In his 2015 budget speech the Finance Minister declared: “One way to curb the flow of black money is to discourage transactions in cash. Now that a majority of Indians has or can have, a RUPAY debit card. I therefore, proposes to introduce soon several measure that will incentivize credit or debit card transactions and disincentivize cash transaction.”

ISRAEL – In 2014 a special committee headed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Chief of Staff Harel Locker released a reportexamining how to reduce the use of cash in the country. The report advocates reforms (including restrictions and limits on cash transactions) as part of a strategy whose aim is “reduced use of cash, reduced use of endorsed checks, and increased use of electronic means of payment.”

NORWAY – Late last week Trond Bentestuen, a senior executive at Norway’s largest bank, complained to the VG Newspaper that the Norwegian central bank “can only account for 40 percent” of the Norwegian kroner in circulation, meaning “that 60 percent of money usage is outside of any control.” There’s only one conclusion, according to Bentestuen: “There are so many dangers and disadvantages associated with cash, we have concluded that it should be phased out.” Don’t worry, though, the nation’s Finance Ministry says it has “no plans to change the law in this area”…for now.

SWEDEN – Last year Stockholm’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology released a report stating that the country is on track to completely eliminating cash transactions in the foreseeable future. Noting that there are now only 80 billion Swedish crowns in circulation in the economy (down from 106 just six years ago), the report highlights how digital person-to-person payment technology “Swish” (developed in collaboration with Danish banks) is already transforming the country’s banking sector, where there are now entire banks that do not accept cash.

The Corbett Report is edited, webmastered, written, produced and hosted by James Corbett.

James Corbett has been living and working in Japan since 2004. He started The Corbett Report website in 2007 as an outlet for independent critical analysis of politics, society, history, and economics. S

http://www.silverbearcafe.com/privat...r-on-cash.html

**Looper** · 18-02-2016, 12:33 AM

I wish they would speed up the war on cash.

The fruit shop would not let me pay with eftpos the other day because my capsicums came to only $4.

'Sorry we have a $5 minimum'

So I happen to have some cash on me ($5) (which is rare) and I get a $1 coin change which is now in the ashtray of my car.

Fuck cash and fuck paper mail while we are at it.

Is there a war on paper mail? There should be. I am fucked off with receiving information printed on pieces of paper carried to my house by a petrol driven mail delivery person and put in a 'letter box' what the fuck is that about?

**Black Heart** · 24-02-2016, 07:24 PM

For the War on Cash, go to 11:30:

**Cold Pizza** · 15-02-2017, 11:49 AM

The Death of Cash is on its way....incrementally, piece by piece.....

Big Brother is watching you: Jim Rogers prophesizes death of cash & total govt control of spending

The time will come when you won't be able to buy a cup of coffee without being traced, warns investment guru Jim Rogers. To control people, governments will increasingly seek to hunt down cash spending, he adds.

“Governments are always looking out for themselves first, and it's the same old thing that has been going on for hundreds of years. The Indians recently did the same thing. They withdrew 86 percent of the currency in circulation, and they have now made it illegal to spend more than, I think it's about $4,000 in any cash transaction. In France you cannot use more than, I think it's a €1,000,”said Rogers in an interview with MacroVoices Podcast.

“Many countries are already doing this. Some states in the US you cannot make cash transactions above a certain amount. Governments love it. Then they can control you. If you want to go and buy a cup of coffee, they know how many you drink, where you buy them, etc., if they can all put it into electronic formats and they will. The world is all going electronic,” the investor said.

According to Rogers, governments will claim they are doing it for the public good, not for themselves.

“When it's done, the governments are going to be very, very happy they are going to say they're doing it for our own good, this is not them, this is for our good. That they're doing this, but it’s coming, and it's going to be a whole different world in which we live. Probably we are not going to have as many freedoms as we have now even though we are already losing our freedoms at a significant pace,” Rodgers told the radio.

This month, the European Commission proposed a bill targeting cash payments.

"Payments in cash are widely used in the financing of terrorist activities… In this context, the relevance of potential upper limits to cash payments could also be explored. Several Member States have in place prohibitions for cash payments above a specific threshold," said the Action Plan.

Jim Rogers is an American businessman, investor, and financial commentator, currently based in Singapore. Rogers made his name in the 1970s after founding a top-performing fund with George Soros.

https://www.rt.com/business/377307-j...-control-cash/

**BaitongBoy** · 15-02-2017, 01:03 PM

Canada stopped printing the $1,000 bills around 2000...(We'll call it the turn of the century...Heh)...For what it's worth...

**Cold Pizza** · 15-02-2017, 01:50 PM

You'll be hearing about the E-dollar more and more:

And in China:

China tests its digital currency, the end of the conventional currencies is closer

https://translate.googleusercontent....hsMPkbC4H3CymQ

**beazalbob69** · 15-02-2017, 03:42 PM

Once currency goes completely digital then all of the barter type stuff like craigslist would be practically eliminated and the govt/banks will have full control over everyone's money.

You want to start a revolution? Try doing it with frozen bank accounts haha.

**Iceman123** · 15-02-2017, 03:53 PM

^
You are very close to the mark.

In Australia I very rarely carry or use cash. A payWave debit card can take care of everything.
It will take a while for developing and third world countries to catch up, but no doubt cashless is coming.

**kmart** · 15-02-2017, 04:13 PM

Fuck that. What will we use to snort coke?

**buriramboy** · 15-02-2017, 04:13 PM

If it wasn't for going to the pub on a Friday, i'd never need cash in the UK as everything else paid on card, most pubs in the UK do accept cards these days which would eliminate my need for cash altogether but I like to drink in a spit and sawdust establishment where it is cash only.

**Iceman123** · 15-02-2017, 04:14 PM

^
Even these pubs in Oz take your card

**harrybarracuda** · 15-02-2017, 04:39 PM

Originally Posted by buriramboy

If it wasn't for going to the pub on a Friday, i'd never need cash in the UK as everything else paid on card, most pubs in the UK do accept cards these days which would eliminate my need for cash altogether but I like to drink in a spit and sawdust establishment where it is cash only.

More and more shops allow you just to tap your phone on a gismo to pay.

No doubt the crooks are walking around with lots of gismos.

**thaimeme** · 15-02-2017, 06:46 PM

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Originally Posted by buriramboy

If it wasn't for going to the pub on a Friday, i'd never need cash in the UK as everything else paid on card, most pubs in the UK do accept cards these days which would eliminate my need for cash altogether but I like to drink in a spit and sawdust establishment where it is cash only.

More and more shops allow you just to tap your phone on a gismo to pay.

No doubt the crooks are walking around with lots of gismos.

...and then go on to wonder why their personal and financial "security" is always at risk. All apart of the cycling game that your forced to play.

**JayZee** · 16-02-2017, 09:00 AM

Where I'm sitting, here be earthquakes. Our disaster kit also includes a hidden stash of cash "very likely" to be accessible when the infrastructure collapses. No mobiles, no EFTPOS, no ATM - could be for a while. What are you gonna do ...?

**Mr Earl** · 16-02-2017, 12:22 PM

Originally Posted by JayZee

What are you gonna do ...?

Very interesting question, few people ask.

In the interest of keeping it simple, since so many possibilities depend on where you happen to be.

1. The Bicycle (I keep a stash of several in several locations. A good bicycle would be worth more than gold. )

2. Having advanced personal survival skills. (Like being able to live without food and water for extended time, 40 days or more)

A very good old movie sort of on topic is "On the Beach", with Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire ,and Anthony Perkins. One the often ignored great classics...

**redhaze** · 16-02-2017, 12:37 PM

This has nothing to do with crime whatsoever. Nothing.

This is a way to force all the money into the world into the banking system, where they are then free to pay you negative interest at their sole discretion. Forget about interest, you'll be paying them to store your money and have no choice but to do so (hell, that shit is already happening in Europe even when you do have a choice).

As for any sort of financial privacy, forget about that. Everyone at some point has spent money in cash that they wouldn't want showing up on a permanent record. Those days would be over

**BobR** · 16-02-2017, 12:41 PM

When physical money is gone, governments will have absolute control making any privacy and freedom a thing of the past. It's only a matter of time. I pity young people who have to live in the Orwellian World we are creating.

**Hugh Cow** · 16-02-2017, 12:46 PM

And our philanthropic Banks are going to do all this free of charge, the government wont use this information to spy on citizens and our "ethical" companies will not use your private information for their own ends to say nothing of cyber criminals etc. You say you need those anti psychotic drugs those heart tablets? Sorry internet's down. Come back tomorrow. Great idea!
I'm coming Dorothy, see you and the tin man soon!

Spam the universal currency of the future. I've got heaps. I'm going to be a spillionaire.

**Mr Earl** · 16-02-2017, 12:51 PM

Originally Posted by BobR

When physical money is gone, governments will have absolute control making any privacy and freedom a thing of the past. It's only a matter of time. I pity young people who have to live in the Orwellian World we are creating.

It wont be physical money being gone....it will be an orange costing 10k euro.

If you haven't any survival skills, you be dead Bob....

**redhaze** · 16-02-2017, 01:21 PM

Originally Posted by Mr Earl

It wont be physical money being gone....it will be an orange costing 10k euro.

Unless there was a massive food shortage can't see how that really makes sense. Companies will still want to actually sell things to people.

**Mr Earl** · 16-02-2017, 05:45 PM

Originally Posted by redhaze

. Companies will still want to actually sell things to people.

That would be making the giant assumption the "companies" would or could survive an electronic/petro supply meltdown.

In which case the currency will become tangible commodities; rice, taters, frijoles, and little chili peppers.

Your trusty electric world would darken considerably.

Start thinking about new biz like making sails, bicycles, and water saving technology.

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