General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsFinding the hidden money...
...A while back my brother and I were discussing tax avoidance and such. He reminded me of a past practice that struck me as funny then, but which slowly seems to have become a pretty good idea as I thought about it.
Now what he suggested you have maybe seen on the TV comedy MASH and a few vets here may even have experienced. I know my brother saw it in Vietnam...
Why don't we change the money??? And I mean completely and rapidly. In the military the change was most often the color-on such and such a date an officer would change blue for red and after that date blue was worthless. And the people it hurt were thieves and hustlers and black marketeers who had more blue money than they could ever explain.
Picture this: The treasury begins printing in secret the amount of US dollars in circulation-in red ink and on current plates. On a fixed date conversion begins and individuals must either convert in person or to authorize their bank to do so and that bank would have to disclose the source and amount for each dollar redeemed.For law-abiding citizens this would be a minor inconvenience but for lawbreakers the consequences could be huge. Those trillions of dollars hidden offshore? Imagine they had to come home or be lost.
Now I'm certain there are a million "but what about" questions and in fact I've just started thinking about those...but I do know this has been used to curb abuses. And it might be interesting to see just what abuses and who would be exposed.
MineralMan
(146,331 posts)It's stored as data in computers. Actual circulating currency makes up only a tiny percentage of all available funds.
Your suggestion would only apply to actual paper money. It wouldn't have any effect on money in bank accounts anywhere.
catnhatnh
(8,976 posts)that would be your digital green to red. Any funds not reported stay green and become worthless.
Thor_MN
(11,843 posts)Unless report requirements changed, the only effect would be to screw up actual paper money used in foreign countries. US dollars are accepted as currency is many countries.
Total dollar assets held broken down by amount and depositor. That would be fun reading for certain Caribbean banks etc....
Thor_MN
(11,843 posts)The hidden money is one and zeros, not pallets of cash.
because when I think of pallets of cash I wonder what happened to those pallets we sent to Iraq. And I hear that many illegal transactions occur in cash...
Response to MineralMan (Reply #1)
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MineralMan
(146,331 posts)How did you even find this thread?