Wednesday, November 30, 2016

It turns out that countries with higher denominations of cash actually have much lower crime rates, including rates of organized crime

The research was simple; we looked at the World Economic Forum’s competitive rankings that assesses countries’ levels of organized crime, as well as the direct business costs of dealing with crime and violence.
Switzerland, with its 1,000 Swiss franc note (roughly $1,000 USD) has among the lowest levels of organized crime in the world according to the WEF.
Ditto for Singapore, which has a 1,000 Singapore dollar note (about $700 USD).
Japan’s highest denomination of currency is 10,000 yen, worth $88 today. Yet Japan also has extremely low crime rates.
Same for the United Arab Emirates, whose highest denomination is the 1,000 dirham ($272).
If you examine countries with very low denominations of cash, the opposite holds true: crime rates, and in particular organized crime rates, are extremely high.
Consider Venezuela, Nigeria, Brazil, South Africa, etc. Organized crime is prevalent. Yet each of these has a currency whose maximum denomination is less than $30.
The same trend holds true when looking at corruption and tax evasion.
Yesterday we wrote to you about Georgia, a small country on the Black Sea whose flat tax prompted tax compliance (and tax revenue) to soar.
It’s considered one of the most efficient places to do business with very low levels of corruption.
And yet the highest denomination note in Georgia is the 500 lari bill, worth about $200. That’s a lot of money in a country where the average wage is a few hundred dollars per month.
Compare that to Malaysia or Uzbekistan, two countries where corruption abounds.
Malaysia’s top cash note is 50 ringgit, worth about $11. And Uzbekistan’s 5,000 som is worth a paltry $1.57.
Bottom line, the political and financial establishments want you to willingly get on board with the idea of abolishing, or at least reducing, cash.

Japan’s highest denomination of currency is 10,000 yen, worth $88 today. Yet Japan also has extremely low crime rates.
Same for the United Arab Emirates, whose highest denomination is the 1,000 dirham ($272).
If you examine countries with very low denominations of cash, the opposite holds true: crime rates, and in particular organized crime rates, are extremely high.
Consider Venezuela, Nigeria, Brazil, South Africa, etc. Organized crime is prevalent. Yet each of these has a currency whose maximum denomination is less than $30.
The same trend holds true when looking at corruption and tax evasion.
Yesterday we wrote to you about Georgia, a small country on the Black Sea whose flat tax prompted tax compliance (and tax revenue) to soar.
It’s considered one of the most efficient places to do business with very low levels of corruption.
And yet the highest denomination note in Georgia is the 500 lari bill, worth about $200. That’s a lot of money in a country where the average wage is a few hundred dollars per month.
Compare that to Malaysia or Uzbekistan, two countries where corruption abounds.
Malaysia’s top cash note is 50 ringgit, worth about $11. And Uzbekistan’s 5,000 som is worth a paltry $1.57.
Bottom line, the political and financial establishments want you to willingly get on board with the idea of abolishing, or at least reducing, cash.
And they’re pumping out all sorts of propaganda to do it, trying to get people to equate crime and corruption with high denominations of cash.
Simply put, the data doesn’t support their assertion. It’s just another hoax that will give them more power at the expense of your privacy and freedom.
Do you have a Plan B?

Submitted by Simon Black via SovereignMan.com,
demonitezed currency and a billion souls made destitute...that's what a ban on cash IS REALLY ABOUT