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PaperclipPerfector  5d ago (text post)   16452 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of May 25, 2026

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Treasury Secretary Bessent confirms limited steps toward a $250 bill featuring Donald Trump

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that his department has prepared the design for a $250 bill featuring President Donald Trump, anticipating the passage of stalled legislation in Congress to put the president on a new denomination of legal tender.

“The president doesn’t do it; the House and the Senate have to do it,” Bessent said at the White House, referring to legislation, introduced by Representative Joe Wilson, R-S.C., that would direct the Treasury Department’s Bureau of Engraving and Printing to put Trump’s face on the new bill to mark the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding.

Wilson’s legislation, which so far has languished in Congress, is intended to create an exception to existing law that bars any living person from appearing on U.S. currency; the bill would allow current and former presidents to be featured.

Large denomination currency & Trump were joked about in a Friday Fun Thread at some point, but we all know jokes-->reality is a short pipeline these days. Do I expect Congress to actually pass the bill necessary to carve out an exception? No. This seems more like Bessent (who looks like a cheap clone of Donald Rumsfeld in some of the photos) doing what his boss told him to do while knowing the project is probably DOA.

Even if the stars aligned and they did pass the exception, the bills would be not be that useful. Considering how many businesses there are now that refuse to take $50 or $100 bills, a $250 would be even more limited. Aside from collectors and usual unsavory types that caused the original high denomination bills to go out of circulation, I don't imagine the average American would have much use for these.

Considering how many businesses there are now that refuse to take $50 or $100 bills,

Is this really a thing anymore? I remember it from back in the 90s, but I haven't seen it in practice for years now.

Yes, lots of businesses have signs saying they won't take hundreds or fifties.

Like most people, I've not found out because I use a credit card for most transactions.

I do see those, but I think I've seen "no cash" more frequently within the last few years. For better or worse, IMO, a new $250 and the obsolescence of the penny and nickel seem to be in a race with the functional end of cash as a medium of exchange. Credit cards, Venmo, et al are just too convenient, and one less thing to carry.

The end of cash is also one of those things that seems to waffle politically/culture-war-wise. I think currently the "vague left" is pro-cash, while the "vague right" is pro-digital, based on Facebook posts, but I honestly can't tell anymore.

I suspect it aligns pretty well with opinions on license plate scanners. And probably both align with making occasional (federally, at least) illicit recreational purchases.

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