Paper Money: Hoarding Cash and Drug Trafficking

paper money: Key points:The problem isn't cash itself — it the large amount of high denomination bills High-value notes make drug trafficking and hoarding cash easier Fewer high-value banknotes would give central banks more options in a crisis Even as people in advanced economies are using less paper money, there is more hard currency in circulation, according to Australian Broadcasting Corporation. To put a number on part of the pile, there is a record $US1.4 trillion in greenbacks alone, or $US4,200 for each American, mostly in hundred-dollar bills. Map: Australia A massive stash of cash may sound like a good thing, but according to one US economist, the vast numbers of banknotes in circulation around the world are making us poorer and less safe. Ken Rogoff, an economics professor at Harvard, has been writing about paper money for 20 years and he says much of this cash "is used to facilitate all sorts of crime". Beyond the more heinous crimes of human and drug trafficking and terrorism, some earners hoard their money to avoid tax. Illegal immigration, dodging tax made easier "Off the books" payments are commonly paid to undocumented workers in the United States, and for Professor Rogoff that makes phasing out cash a key pillar in efforts to stop illegal immigration. While using paper money has some advantages, Professor Rogoff says the quantity of big bills lying around is "out of kilter". He advocating for a world where, within 15 years, the highest banknote available would be a ten dollar bill. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.