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Comment by fiatjaf | Hacker News Reader

I bet some people will think this is good news. Of course it is good news for digital payments providers. For all the other 99,99999999% of the population, including the users of digital payments, it is horrible news.

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Anecdotal experience, but all my relatives and many of my friends are happy with this ban as it is a step against corruption. My parents got income tax notice after this ban which shows they are even monitoring bank accounts now, and this is when my parents didn't have a single penny in black money. A lot of people are willing to stand in queues. Modi promised to take steps against black money/corruption and he did take a step against it, so alot of people are happy with him. Modi being a polarising figure will always have people discrediting each and every single move taken by him.

  it is a step against corruption

Corruption by whom? This is a consolidation of power into payment services and government surveillance. Make no mistake the corruption is simply moving up.

Cash hasn't been banned in India. Only ₹500 and ₹1000 denomination currency notes have been scrapped. Replacement currency notes (₹₹500 and ₹2000) with new design are being disbursed at banks and ATMs. I don't think there's any consolidation of power into payment systems have been happening.

And, government surveillance for online transactions should be similar what is being done in western countries ;)

1: ₹500 , ₹1000 consists of 86 % of cash in circulation by value, that in effect almost a full ban.

2: Try getting that ₹2000 changed with any shop on street.

3. I have yet to see any of the ₹500 in any ATM in Bangalore, it still not well circulated

4. If anyone thinks ppl keep bulk of their ill gotten wealth in cash they are idiots, sure this affect few % of the wealth of rich corrupt people that was in cash, however it impacts the poor 100x more. I can't pay my maid's salary because I don't have the any kind of notes, while I can manage fine using cards, she doesn't even have a bank account, remember > 50% of India is not banked.

> If anyone thinks ppl keep bulk of their ill gotten wealth in cash they are idiots

You are partially correct but govt has to start from somewhere. As you know they are also going to attack "Benami" property.

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/blac...

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/meerut/Sedan-caught-...

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/whip-cracked-on-b...

> it impacts the poor 100x more

I will not consider anyone poor if he spends more than Rs. 500 per day. This figure is correct on weekly basis. Rs. 500 per week. Poor people earn at most Rs. 250 per day. keep that in mind. Having a fixed deposit of bank account is better for them anyway, because they don't have to worry about income tax dept asking for tax from them. I know they aren't educated enough to do the paper work. But trust in Banks is good thing because it will cut down middle man and they will directy get benefite from the schemees which means less scams irrespective of who is in govt.

Street vendors see Rs 500/1000 note once in a while.

Plus, Average Indian Spends $1.8 Every Day.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_India

https://www.saddahaq.com/average-indian-spends-18-every-day-...

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india/family-day-how-indian-fa...

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Spend-Rs-32-a-day-G...

You should also understand that opposition is trying to create panic, so people protest againt current govt.

> she doesn't even have a bank account

Help her create a bank account + tempt her with interest she will be getting + there is no risk of anyone robbing her savings

Corruption by whom

By people dealing in cash to avoid paying tax.

You have a strange notion of what corruption is.

Consolidation of power & government surveillance is horrible and there is no doubt about it. But it is something only people living in developed countries like US feel insecure about. In developing countries like India there are far more severe problems to tackle. Developing countries should first focus on eliminating corruption at the lower level. Imagine the suffering of people who have to pay 100 bucks to get a document from a government office. The pain & suffering from low level corruption is far more severe than feeling insecure about government snooping.

> In developing countries like India there are far more severe problems to tackle.

Yes!, that's why they shouldn't be focusing in disturbing people's lives and increasing banks and government power and surveillance!

Cash is not being banned. Some denominations are being replaced with newer variants.

This would be true if they were just removing large denominations from circulation.

As it turns out, they are replacing those denominations with equal or higher currency values.

Now, to be fair, 99.99999999% of the population is everyone except about an eighth of a person, so even that last person would be getting a pretty raw deal.

I typed it without checking, but I actually wanted to leave a number smaller than 100 out. I guess I almost did it.

Can you provide some reasons as to why you think this is a horrible news?

you mean most of them who are required to be provided bank accounts under various govt scheme prior to demonetization. or perhaps you mean all 1 Billion mobile subscribers who dont have access to an electronic payment platform, Right? /s

Is it good for them tomorrow, likely not but what about six months from now? you get side benefit of being able to track transactions and tax avoidance.

>you get side benefit of being able to track transactions and tax avoidance

A lot of good people would consider that to be the opposite of a benefit.

By what reasoning? On the surface I would assume that to be false. Please elaborate?

privacy?

Why is it horrible news?

The whole thing seems like a clear win to me.

When most of a country doesn't have access to digital payments, lack of cash is a problem. Although to be fair, the poor aren't the ones trying to buy things with large denomination notes anyway.

More than 50% of the population of India doesn't have a bank account. A large percentage of Indians use an open field as a bathroom and have trouble getting access to clean water. How does this help them in _any_ way?

Hold on, let me spend time walking 10 miles to a bank and sign up for electronic payments instead of tending my field and barely making enough to survive on. Yeah, while this is great for India's banking industry to get some growth, I hardly see the benefit for the significant rural population that does not have easy access to a bank nor any of the supporting infrastructure that is required to support electronic payments.

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