
Getting Rid of Big Currency Notes Could Help Fight Crime - hvo
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/22/opinion/getting-rid-of-big-currency-notes-could-help-fight-crime.html
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dalke
Remember, opinion pieces in the NYT are not fact checked and the authors can
be lying through their teeth, or should I say, expressing a heart-felt
opinion.

> But these are relatively minor burdens compared with the potential benefits
> of reducing criminal activity and tax evasion.

The same justification which complicates my life, as an overseas American,
since I have a bank account and retirement savings in the country I live in,
and which costs me several hundred dollars each year to get a US accountant to
handle my taxes.

Obviously I want a more concrete justification than "potential benefits."

> There are now so many ways to pay for things, and eliminating big bills
> should create few problems.

What are the other options for the 10 million unbanked or underbanked American
households?

Or those who travel overseas and don't want to depend on the credit/debit card
working? For example, I was in Germany once and the ATM ate my card, because
my bank back in Sweden had issued a fraud alert. I had to borrow money from my
co-workers because I wasn't going home for a couple of days and, silly me,
hadn't brought extra cash with me to change into Euros.

Of course, the NYT reported on problems with US credit cards when traveling
overseas, eg, at [http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/03/travel/credit-card-
problem...](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/03/travel/credit-card-problems-
abroad-readers-respond.html) , so it's not like this is an obscure issue.

And as everyone has pointed out when this topic comes up, cash is king in the
German speaking countries. The last few times in Switzerland I stayed at B&Bs,
where the practice is to pay in cash on arrival. 4 nights @ ~$120/night is
about $500. But that's okay, since the Swiss ATMs give out 100 CHF (about
$100) bills. Which are accepted everywhere I tried.

So yes, if you are a rich business traveler (like an editor for the NYT) then
there are many options for you. But that's the 1% speaking.

