Anger Grows in India as Banks Struggle to Swap Banned Notes
November 12th, 2016Via: Reuters:
Anger intensified in India on Saturday as banks struggled to dispense cash following the government’s decision to withdraw large denomination notes in an attempt to uncover billions of dollars in undeclared wealth.
Tempers frayed as hundreds of thousands of people queued for hours outside banks for a third day to swap 500 and 1,000 rupee bank notes after the notes were abolished earlier in the week.
The banned bills made up more than 80 percent of the currency in circulation, leaving millions of people without cash and threatening to bring much of the cash-driven economy to a halt.
“There’s chaos everywhere,” said Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, a rival of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing the premier of wreaking havoc on poor and working Indians while the wealthy found ways to skirt the new rules.
Typical gubmint boondoggle, resulting in horrific unintended consequences. Just got back today from Chennai. PM Modi declared that this “demonitization” was to crush the black money in the economy, but the serious tax avoidance money has long been converted to real estate, gold, and forex. What transpired crushed millions upon millions of day labourers, small business owners, and regular, struggling peeps — i.e., everyone *but* the intended target. Luckily, we were able to eat at the hotel and pay our bill via credit card — otherwise, we’d be like thousands of other tourists and tens of millions of Indian nationals who were going hungry from lack of legal cash.