interestrateripoff Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/sep/15/half-uk-banknotes-used-to-fund-shadow-economy At least half of all UK banknotes in circulation are being used for purposes such as drug dealing, prostitution and dodgy business deals, or are being held abroad, according to a Bank of England report. It said that no more than half of banknotes are being used for legitimate purposes, with the rest used to fund the “shadow” economy or held overseas. The so-called shadow economy encompasses a range of illegal activities, from drug dealing, prostitution, smuggling, fraud and human trafficking, plus legitimate activities that are concealed from the authorities, such as “off-the-books” business deals and cash-in-hand payments for goods and services such as building work where the aim is to escape paying tax. In an extraordinary admission, the Bank said: “The evidence available indicates that no more than half of Bank of England notes in circulation are likely to be held for use within the domestic economy for legitimate purposes. “The remainder is likely to be held overseas or for use in the shadow economy. However, given the untraceable nature of cash, it is not possible to determine precisely how much is held in each market.” The shadow economy is estimated to be around 10% of the UK’s GDP, although it is reckoned to be half the level of Greece and Italy. A report so they can boost GDP figures via the black economy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Loo Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 dodgy business deals are only dodgy in that they seek to avoid a third party taking a cut...other than that, a contract is a contract. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCountOfNowhere Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Half of banknotes used to avoid profitting bankers and the public sector. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 (edited) ....watch this space.....the long term wider plan is to get rid of bank notes altogether, so get used to anything in the news to say why notes are bad but zeros and new modern technology that can be tracked are good.IMO. Edited September 16, 2015 by winkie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCountOfNowhere Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 ....watch this space.....the long term wider plan is to get rid of bank notes altogether, I bet it is. It is very scary. It really is time to get out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sour Mash Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 ....watch this space.....the long term wider plan is to get rid of bank notes altogether, so get used to anything in the news to say why notes are bad but zeros and new modern technology that can be tracked are good.IMO. Agreed - these days I tend to pay a lot of attention to 'themes' which seem to emerge in the media and for the last few years, there have been an increasing number of 'anti physical cash' stories coming out, designed to shape public opinion. What many people fail to appreciate is that the ability to use physical cash offers individuals a large degree of freedom. Anonymity for one, ability to actually hold your wealth about your person for another. Moving to an an all-electronic system removes yet more personal freedom and privacy from the general individial as well as offering enormous scope for fraud on the part of financial institutions and possibilities for the state to abuse their powers (especially when combined with existing all-pervasive spying on the population). Very bad indeed for the common person. It's absolutely great news if you are in insider though, with 'the system' working to benefit you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nnails Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 when you consider that most of us pay 20% on what we earn or more, 20% when we buy anything, tax on petrol , tax on road , pay to park when we go to collect it. the amount we are allowed to keep by the goverment is around 25% to 50%. you can see why people want to iss the vat bit out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habeas Domus Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Yes I imagine the bank of England is watching with envy the way paypal can skim off 3% from every transaction. We pay stamp duty when buying houses, but when all payments are electronic they could add stamp duty to everything. I'm going to start making a concious effort to use cash more often instead of being lazy and using a card, though I suspect resistance to the likes of ApplePay is futile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evetsm Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 (edited) http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/sep/15/half-uk-banknotes-used-to-fund-shadow-economy A report so they can boost GDP figures via the black economy? or a report to prepare us for a ban on cashproblem is what part of the so called elite profits from the black economy? The Opium Wars etc , anyone ? This is the only reason cash hasn't already been banned imo Edited September 16, 2015 by evetsm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spaniard Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 In other news, well over half of UK bankblips (electronic commercial bank credit money) are borrowed into existence to enable us to compete with each other to bid up house prices. Someone, somewhere is paying interest to some bank for almost every bankblip in circulation. Rent-a-currency, don't you just love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agentimmo Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 I ALWAYS pay cash in hand to any small business that does work for me. As long as they are not a regional or national chain and have < 10 workers , they get my CASH. And seem to work better for it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Errol Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Agreed - these days I tend to pay a lot of attention to 'themes' which seem to emerge in the media and for the last few years, there have been an increasing number of 'anti physical cash' stories coming out, designed to shape public opinion. What many people fail to appreciate is that the ability to use physical cash offers individuals a large degree of freedom. Anonymity for one, ability to actually hold your wealth about your person for another. Moving to an an all-electronic system removes yet more personal freedom and privacy from the general individial as well as offering enormous scope for fraud on the part of financial institutions and possibilities for the state to abuse their powers (especially when combined with existing all-pervasive spying on the population). Very bad indeed for the common person. It's absolutely great news if you are in insider though, with 'the system' working to benefit you. Good post. I make a point of using cash at all available times for the reasons you detail above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renting til I die Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 ....watch this space.....the long term wider plan is to get rid of bank notes altogether, so get used to anything in the news to say why notes are bad but zeros and new modern technology that can be tracked are good.IMO. +1 Agree. This is the grand plan. Although the media have been going on about this for quite a while already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sour Mash Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 +1 Agree. This is the grand plan. Although the media have been going on about this for quite a while already. And that's how you shape public opinion in our great 'democracy' and get your way. Stories popping up in the media over a prolonged period of time, slowly changing the perceptions of a public that generally is uncritical enough to believe everything (or at least, most) of what the corporate mass media machine tells them. Once you realise how it works, you can't help but notice how some 'issues' just suddenly appear out of nowhere and very soon all the media is talking about them. Then lo and behold, the government will come out with a 'solution' to the 'problem', a solution which typically involves screwing over the general public to some extent but hey it's necessary to fix this pressing issue that all the media is telling you is so important. Smoke and mirrors. The bigger the change that they want to impose on the population (without widespread opposition, you can easily marginalise a few troublemakers but you want to keep the bulk of people placid), the longer it takes to groom the masses into thinking there's a problem that needs to be addressed with a radical measure. Getting rid of physical cash is pretty huge, so you erode it slowly over time. Remember, the establishment has been around for a long time and the goal isn't just to keep yourself comfy, you want to ensure your dynasty is safely guaranteed a place at the top of the table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 And that's how you shape public opinion in our great 'democracy' and get your way. Stories popping up in the media over a prolonged period of time, slowly changing the perceptions of a public that generally is uncritical enough to believe everything (or at least, most) of what the corporate mass media machine tells them. Once you realise how it works, you can't help but notice how some 'issues' just suddenly appear out of nowhere and very soon all the media is talking about them. Then lo and behold, the government will come out with a 'solution' to the 'problem', a solution which typically involves screwing over the general public to some extent but hey it's necessary to fix this pressing issue that all the media is telling you is so important. Smoke and mirrors. The bigger the change that they want to impose on the population (without widespread opposition, you can easily marginalise a few troublemakers but you want to keep the bulk of people placid), the longer it takes to groom the masses into thinking there's a problem that needs to be addressed with a radical measure. Getting rid of physical cash is pretty huge, so you erode it slowly over time. Remember, the establishment has been around for a long time and the goal isn't just to keep yourself comfy, you want to ensure your dynasty is safely guaranteed a place at the top of the table. Hard not to agree with that......happening all the time, yes you are right it is a type of grooming/indoctrination.......and many fall for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chronyx Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 There's an advert on the radio about taking electronic payments 'in person'. How kind of someone to offer me a solution to using cash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyrichie Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 im really againt the removal of cash, we need cash which is why i am migrating to bitcoin, holding stock in bitcoin so i got cash if my notes get turned off, its easy to transact with and since its got some legal stuff sorted out in the uk, germany, israel i feel pritty safe with it, took a long time to learn thou and i am a tech head but doggie transactions 4 life!! no cameron, u cannot see which prostitute and drug i am buying, no google i dont want your crack adds clogging up my email, no windows 10, you will not be tracing my hooker addiction or porn subscription, thats not the type of stuff i want to go through a morgage application with lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pokercola Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 (edited) There have been criticisms in the past of the size of the largest Euro notes. They are so large, they could only possibly be used by the black economy. But I personally believe it was a French inspired idea in order to usurp the $ and its "exorbitant privilege". So, on the one hand we have typical Brit desire for micro management and control and a broad French strategy that they play out over decades. I remember reading an article that said something like 90% of the worlds 500 Euro notes are in circulation in ......dun dun dun ...South America. Sure it's legit reasons I don't consider myself at the tin foil hatter end of this site, but I would be worried if they started pushing for the removal of cash. Just don't like the thought of every transaction being potentially scrutinised. Edited September 16, 2015 by pokercola Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sikejsudjek Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Mark of the beast. Without it no one can buy or sell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sour Mash Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 There have been criticisms in the past of the size of the largest Euro notes. They are so large, they could only possibly be used by the black economy. Or, for people to store their money wealth as physical cash themselves. Mind you, we can't have that. Better to make them give it to the banks, for 'safekeeping'. (In Switzerland there are 1000CHF notes, currently worth more than €900. No furrore about that, but then the Swiss public are generally more canny about the nature of real money and politicians/bankers than the average Brit or EC Citizen.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wonderpup Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 In a cashless society you would have the ultimate big brother state in which everything you ever did would leave a digital trail via the banking system. Of course the people in power would no doubt argue that if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear- on the other hand they also want to execute anybody who leaks their secrets to the public- does that mean that they have something to hide? We really are sleepwalking into an era of totalitarian states here- and I type this with the full knowledge that some state sponsored system somewhere is probably routinely scanning and recording everything I and everyone else on this site types- not because HPC is a hotbed of radical thought but just because they can. Mass digital storage is a greater threat to individual freedom than anything the KGB or Gestapo could have managed- combined with fast AI search tools and you have the makings of a perfect police state right there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meerkat Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Agreed - these days I tend to pay a lot of attention to 'themes' which seem to emerge in the media and for the last few years, there have been an increasing number of 'anti physical cash' stories coming out, designed to shape public opinion. What many people fail to appreciate is that the ability to use physical cash offers individuals a large degree of freedom. Anonymity for one, ability to actually hold your wealth about your person for another. Moving to an an all-electronic system removes yet more personal freedom and privacy from the general individial as well as offering enormous scope for fraud on the part of financial institutions and possibilities for the state to abuse their powers (especially when combined with existing all-pervasive spying on the population). Very bad indeed for the common person. It's absolutely great news if you are in insider though, with 'the system' working to benefit you. +1... this just another building block to trick sheople into accepting the government/banks will have full control of one's money. Anyone wondering why safe deposit boxes are increasingly difficult to find in bank branches, too? Thought Animal Farm or 1984 were books English folks were supposed to read at high school or not any longer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meerkat Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 (edited) In a cashless society you would have the ultimate big brother state in which everything you ever did would leave a digital trail via the banking system. Of course the people in power would no doubt argue that if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear- on the other hand they also want to execute anybody who leaks their secrets to the public- does that mean that they have something to hide? We really are sleepwalking into an era of totalitarian states here- and I type this with the full knowledge that some state sponsored system somewhere is probably routinely scanning and recording everything I and everyone else on this site types- not because HPC is a hotbed of radical thought but just because they can. Mass digital storage is a greater threat to individual freedom than anything the KGB or Gestapo could have managed- combined with fast AI search tools and you have the makings of a perfect police state right there. Well said ... as per the 1984, Orwell's so prescient mare Edited September 17, 2015 by Meerkat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
South Lorne Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 (edited) http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/sep/15/half-uk-banknotes-used-to-fund-shadow-economy A report so they can boost GDP figures via the black economy? ...ha ...ha..if the idiots in charge had any sense they would carry out a new note exchange ....then you would flush out the nasties.... Edited September 17, 2015 by South Lorne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habeas Domus Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Two points from the article "half the banknotes" is not the same as half the money, most notes are small denominations "given the untraceable nature of cash, it is not possible to determine precisely how much is held in each market.” - this rather undermines the whole dubious article Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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