Ban the $100 bill?

New and more colorful $5 bills, intended to make counterfeiters’ lives more difficult, went into circulation earlier this month, joining the already spruced-up $10s, $20s, and $50s. The old $5 bills will continue to circulate until they wear out.

Coming next, at a date still to be determined, is the new $100 bill—unless, that is, those who would dump it altogether have their way. The anti-$100 bill argument, made in newspapers recently via this article, is that the $100 bill is handy for terrorists, drug kingpins, and other criminals who deal in large amounts of cash but plays little or no role in the lives of ordinary, law-abiding consumers.

Eliminating the $100 bill (the jargon is “demonetizing” it) would presumably mean that those of us with a C note we got from Grandma last birthday would be able to cash it in for some period of time before it became worthless. Criminal types with crates full of them, however, would have a lot of explaining to do.

What do you think? Should we keep the $100 bill or phase it out? Which would be better for consumers?  Please feel free to comment below.

Comments

[Elston]

Keep the $100 bill.

When I go abroad I take cash for two reasons. There are still places without an ATM, and I try hard to avoid using credit cads which charge a 3% currency conversion transaction fee.

I agree that we should get rid of pennies and nickels which cost twice as much to produce as they are worth as money.

[Donald]

I got a better idea, get rid of the $50 also. While we are at it how about the penny. US Armed Forces overseas don't use it. They either round up or down and they save money from not having to move around pennies.

[Robert]

Phase it out.

[John Peters]

First it was the ten thousand dollar bill, then it was the thousand dollar bill. When will people(stupid politicians) learn that no matter what the currency, the drug traffic etc. will continue. To ban the 100 dollar bill is stupid. My wallet is already fat enough with carrying 20's and 100's. The social problems need to be solved in another way than affecting our currency.

[Len]

I like 50's & 100's because they take up far less space in my wallet. If you want to do something useful with our currency & coinage dump the $1 & $2 bills and replace them with coinage like Canada did some time ago. They last much longer making them more cost efficent to manufacture. They are also far more useful for tolls, parking, & every type of vending machine.

[Ricardo]

Eliminate the $100 bill? I need them to fill my SUV gas tank. Lots of them.

[Gus]

With the rapidly declining relative value of our (worthless) paper currency, we're going to need to bring back $1000.00 bills.

[leftboston]

I never considered this before but I can see it's merit. For me, get rid of Pennies, get rid of paper dollars as they cost too much to maintain and adopt coins for 1 and 2 dollar amounts. You don't like coins but a few months in Europe will teach you, counting coins will make you spend all your coin collection quickly

[Noel]

I think its pretty short sighted to get rid of the big bills ($50s & $100s). I like to keep them in my wallet as my discretionary allowance. Not because they are a status symbol, but because if I use one, it makes me think twice before I break the bill. If I kept my fun money on my debit card, I would spend it much more quickly.

Not that I shun electronic banking. All our budgeted spending is on our debit card. For that stuff, it is quick & easy and its a way to separate our essential spending for needs from our "fun" spending.

[William F. Slack]

Keep the $100 bill. I fact issue a $500 and $1000 bills. The gov't would like to eliminate all cash on the guise of helping the war on drugs. That war was lost long ago. Eliminating cash will allow the gov't to track almost any transaction and I do not trust them. The EU has a 500 euro note and it seems to get along OK.

[Chuck]

I do not think this is a very good idea.

Back in the 80's, I used to think $100 was a lot of money and I rarely used them. Now I find myself carrying 50's or 100's all the time. Inflation has grown so much over the past years that $20 dollars in 1980 is equivalent to almost $60 today. So carrying a couple of $50s is like carrying a couple of $20's, 25 years ago.

I have never have any problems using them to pay for gas, groceries, or restaurants. I also find it less conspicuous to carry 50's and 100's than a huge wad of 10's and 20's.

Besides, the Wall Street Journal recently mentioned that Euro is already the currency of choice for the underground economy due to the 500 Euro denomination.

[Ed Burke]

During the Vietnam War the color of viable US Military Scrip (Money) was changed and then distributed voiding all the old color money within a few days. This left all the brothels, bars, drug sellers, etc. holding worthless paper. I believe that this idea has merit, and is similar to what was a very effective tool to cripple criminals and their activity in Vietnam during the war.

The downside is that as the US Dollar devalues into the US Peso, we may wish we had not done this because a tank of gas of a few groceries will soon be costing a hundred bucks. The 100 dollar bill is soon to become the new 20, and that is a problem of more than the bills denomination.

[Patrick Henry]

Keep the $100 and bring back the $1000. Then, get the IRS off everyone's back. Stop treating the law abiding like criminals.

“Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” —Patrick Henry, 23 March 1775

[Dan S]

Get rid of pennies, nickels, and dimes! What a waste!

With inflation, getting rid of $100 bills is a dumb idea. If we want to stop illegal drugs just legalize them, treat them like an illness (more or less - addicts get what they need for free with medical oversight) and abolish the totally ineffective DEA. Did we learn nothing from our disastrous experiment called "Prohibition"?

[John Kirk]

All of the current bills are useful for consumers, particularly for those who are tempted to over spend when using a credit card.

$1, $5 and $10 bills are useful for tips at airports, hotels, barber shops and restaurants. $20 bills are universally accepted at fast food, gas stations, toll booths and convenience stores.

Now that travelers checks are virtually obsolete,
$50 and $100 bills are useful when traveling overseas to countries where credit cards are not universally accepted and where greenbacks are accepted in lieu of local currency.

The downside of carrying bills is that if lost or stolen you are out of luck. If you add a lost or stolen risk factor, say 3%, then the added cost of using a credit card in terms of higher prices seems like a bargain.

We know higher prices are paid by those who use credit cards as well as those who pay cash except for the "convenience fee" which government agencies are allowed to charge credit card users. The credit card transaction fees which merchants pass along to consumers are a hidden tax which is paid only by those who pay in cash.

There is a risk factor of over spending with credit cards, just as there is a risk factor of over indulging at an open bar or all-you-can eat buffet. Those of us who might over indulge at an open bar or all-you-can-eat buffet should avoid such situations. Those of us who might over spend should avoid credit cards and stick with cash.

[paul]

What IDIOT came up with this idea?
Sounds like some rocket scientist(pinhead) government worker thought this up to justify their job.

[Bill Evans]

I travel extensively throughout the US. I can never recall carrying a $100 bill. I expect it would be hard to pay for something with one, except at a bank. Carrying cash in denominations of $100 is an invitation to be mugged.

[J V Lacefield]

I use $50 and $100 bills nearly every day. Find them highly useful. Do not use debit cards, have found no advantage over credit cards. Several disadvantages compared to credit cards but I am not asking that debit cards be banned. Who are these people that have never seen a 50 or 100 bill. Do they live in the USA? You do NOT have to be a drug dealer to find bills of this size useful. Any of you people remember the 5,000 and 10,000 bills. They came even larger than that but I did not see any of those.

[Tom]

We should continue with the $100 bill. There used to be a $1000 and $500 bill and they were stopped, did that stop the drugs? With the price of everything going up I think we will need the $100 bill. Who knows we might be paying $100 for a full tank of gas ?????

[Tom Wells]

This is a great idea! I remember when the US changed the MPC (Military Payment Certificate) in Viet Nam. In one day all old MPC were null and void. Vietnamese were outside our gate in DaNang begging to trade for their old MPC. It worked, by the way. This is a dern good way to get illegal money off the streets. All you that are against this just don't understand what it will do.

[AJ]

I frequently carry $100 or larger for work. Come on people, the $100 has legimimate business uses. I'm so sick of this fear mongerning, anytime someone wants to strip away my rights, they cry "terrorists!"

Give me a break, take your fear mongering elsewhere and keep your hands off my $100's and other civil liberties.

[David]

Bad idea. Just sold my car yesterday. Glad that I was able to receive $100s. Imagine if that was all 20s. Eek. It would be one thing if the Treasury stopped printing C-Notes as they did with the $10,000, etc. It's completely another to expect the public to "cash in." NO American currency has ever lost it's face value. If you have a nickel from 1834, it's still legal tender - 5 cents (I'd sell it to a collector though). Keep the $100.

[Joe]

If I buy a $1 hot dog with a $10 bill, no vendor freaks out.

If I buy $10 worth of food and try to pay with a $100 bill, all of a sudden I am a terrorist? Why?? it is the same proportion of change.

this is just more Big Brotherism from a government that wants to track our every move, read every email and know how fast our car got from toll plaza A to toll plaza B.

Mohamed Atta bought his plane ticket with a credit card.

[Ken]

Am I the only CR subscriber who enjoys an occasional evening at a casino?

Get rid of the fifty; keep the hundred.

[Jock Murray]

Amen,to patrick Henry,s comment.Bring back the 1000.00 some of you people wouldn't mind asking permission to buy a Hot Dog,Terrorists may eat them too.Jock