Why the $250 bill would be good … For criminals!

The proposal to introduce a $250 bill featuring President Donald Trump faces significant legal and practical hurdles, primarily regarding the prohibition of living figures on U.S. currency and the potential facilitation of financial crime. High-denomination notes, such as the $100 bill, are increasingly used for illicit activities like money laundering, drug trafficking, and tax evasion rather than daily commerce. Economists like Ken Rogoff and financial crime experts like Oliver Bullough argue that these large bills serve as anonymous, interest-free loans to the government while simultaneously providing criminals with a convenient, untraceable method to store and move value. Eliminating high-denomination notes would likely increase tax compliance and hinder criminal operations, far outweighing the minor revenue gains the Treasury currently realizes from the interest-free nature of physical currency in circulation.