A former U.S. treasury secretary has taken a public stand against high denomination bil
Larry Summers argues in a piece for the Washington Post that large notes like the 500-euro or $100 bill should no longer be issued.
His commentary was inspired by a recently published paper from the Harvard Kennedy School titled, "Making it Harder for the Bad Guys: The Case for Eliminating High Denomination Notes."
In the paper, researchers discuss the flow of money from illegal activities and write that "By eliminating high denomination, high value notes we would make life harder for those pursuing tax evasion, financial crime, terrorist finance and corruption."
Summers largely agrees, recalling similar concerns he expressed about the 500-euro note, which is worth more than $550, when the currency was being planned out.
In fact, he points to the note's nickname as the "Bin Laden"—a point mentioned in the paper—as proof of its link to illegal activities.
The famed economist ultimately states that placing "a moratorium on printing new high denomination notes would make the world a better place."
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