Cashing out High Currency
The 100-dollar bill is the highest value bill that circulates in the United States and
accounts for 11.9 million percent of all United States currency production. The average
lifetime of circulation for a 100-dollar bill is 89 months. In The Curse of Cash, author
Kenneth S. Rogoff mentions many of the reasons why it should be deleted out of the
currency that is used. However, there seems to be many pros and cons on whether
getting rid of currency, especially the 100-dollar bill, is necessary. That is why I take a
strong maybe opinion on doing so. It may be beneficial to do so with the changes and
advances in technology that are occurring in the world currently, but could also affect
and change many aspects of society and life such as the economy, jobs, businesses,
individuals, and much more.
One reason the 100-dollar bill is viewed negatively and should be removed is
mentioned early on in the book. The author explains how currency is bad for the public’s
health (Rogoff, 79). We touch many things each and every day that other people in the
public have most likely had their hands on as well. However, currency has to be the
number one thing that is touched by multiple people, many times. We have no clue
where a bill has been when we receive it. We do not always know who had it before us,
what they purchased, where they were, or what they could have had on their hands
before touching that bill. It could have been involved in a drug deal and we would never
know. Germs get passed around with the use of bills, spreading illnesses and diseases.
Doing without currency could reduce the chances of those things happening. Another
con of having currency is the advances that are occurring in the world today. Credit and
debit cards are a huge reason why currency could potentially be eliminated because
that is what most people use to purchase nearly everything. Even when cash is used, it is
when the amount is small, and only small denominations are being used, being a reason
why higher currency is irrelevant (Rogoff, 56). Online shopping has also become a big
fad in recent years and you cannot pay with cash while completing online transactions.
Therefore, the people that enjoy paying for things online do not need cash. A lot of
people also pay for things using an automated draft system that takes the amount
straight out of the account and no cash is used in that situation. With that comes
another way technology could take the place of currency, and currency no longer has
much purpose. Getting rid of currency could also reduce things such as money
laundering and crimes like drug trafficking. Without cash, counterfeiting currency would
