“Even if they made $500 or $1000 bills, they would be useless, because nobody could make change for them.”
I know a lot of people, including me, that carried a $1,000 bill in their wallet especially for emergancies in the 1950s.
The car owner gave me one for weekend expenses for the race car in 1957 and by the end of the weekend it was spent.
$500 and $1000 bills have value only as collectibles, and require substantial identification, including a thumbprint, to spend today, except among collectors. Most retailers would just refuse the sale in exchange for them.
What I am talking about is an attempt by the government to reissue them as currency to support inflationary or hyperinflationary policies. Right now, because of shortage, our paper currency is de facto 95% deflated, but our virtual currency is under powerful inflationary pressures.
So even with printing $1000 bills, they would still have to print them in the billions just to make the paper currency on a par with virtual money. On or about 6 billion $1000 bills, which is about two years full production. Assuming no more inflation to the virtual currency in the meantime.
And nobody could make change for them.
I can see why they are such profound advocates of a “cashless” society, because if cash was no longer used, they imagine infinite spending and endless devaluation.