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PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   29355 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of October 6, 2025

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What do you need a $200 bill for?

We're in an interesting situation where inflation has made these chicken shit denominations worthless but large denominations are not useful since big transactions are handled by check, card, wire, etc.

I don't even know when is the last time I've held a $100 bill despite selling my last car for cash money. I got an envelope of twenties for it.

We're in an interesting situation where inflation has made these chicken shit denominations worthless but large denominations are not useful since big transactions are handled by check, card, wire, etc.

An "interesting situation" that almost seems like a squeeze to impose digital currency.

This "squeeze" has been happening since checks were invented during the Song dynasty. It turns out that people find it useful and convenient to make transactions without carrying cash or bullion.

Apparently most $100 bills are used in the black market: https://www.moneyandbanking.com/commentary/2017/11/12/cash-is-king-but-100-bills-are-for-crooks

Returning to the present, why is 90 percent of the U.S. increase in circulation accounted for by $100 bills? ... To put it simply, most of the U.S. currency in circulation is almost surely being used by criminals.

Which to be fair, could just as easily be things like non-licensed garage sales and used car sales skipping sales tax. But that's still a crime, and you can see why the government isn't eager to make that stuff easier. But hey, maybe if inflation continues, the $100 will soon be as practical for normal purchases as the $20.

About 80% of $100 bills are outside the US. It isn't clear whether they are being used by crooks or as a bullion-equivalent by normies who don't trust their local currencies.

Based on these stats that works out as about $1.5 trillion of Benjamins held outside the US (15 billion notes), representing an interest-free loan to USG that covers a few percent of the national debt.

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