This arrangement resembles anarcho-capitalism, a theme Stephenson carries over to his next novel "The Diamond Age". As described in both novels, and the short story "The Great Simoleon Caper" (1995), hyperinflation has sapped the value of the US dollar to the extent that trillion dollar bills—"Ed Meeses"—are nearly disregarded and the quadrillion dollar note—the "Gipper"—is the standard "small" bill. This hyperinflation was created by the government overprinting money, due to loss of tax revenue, as people increasingly began to use electronic currency which they exchanged in untaxable encrypted online transactions. For physical transactions, most people resort to alternative currencies such as yen or "Kongbucks" (the official currency of Mr. Lee's Greater Hong Kong). Hyperinflation has also negatively affected much of the rest of the world (with some exceptions like Japan), resulting in waves of desperate refugees from Asia who cross the Pacific in rickety ships hoping to arrive in North America.