The Death of the Dollar Bill?

[SubGod22]

Call for change: Lawmakers push bill to swith to $1 coin

Capitol Hill lawmakers want to change the color of money amid growing concerns about the federal deficit and the constant pressure for Washington to live within its means.

The House and Senate each have introduced legislation that would replace the dollar bill with a $1 coin.

“Change can be difficult,” Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., said. “But doing things as we’ve always done has contributed to our debt. We've got to latch on to any reasonable handhold we can find to climb out of this hole.”

It's not the first time this debate has been presented and may or may not be the last. I understand that it would save money in the long run, but I'm also someone who pretty much never caries coins on my person and it would be a bit of a pain to deal with dollar coins all the time. I keep a few random coins in my car for tolls or maybe a drive-thru window, but they're not the most convenient item.

I guess if this comes to pass and bills are eventually taken completely out of circulation, I'll just never be able to pay with exact change because I can guarantee I, like many others, would cash them in repeatedly for bigger bills that can fit in a wallet and not weigh you down.

At least we're finally hearing something that may save money. Unlike just about everything else that's passed in recent memory. Too bad they can't fix all the dependency programs that have hurt this country....

And what about the strippers?

[rrshock]

I guess I'm confused how it would save money by switching.

And I'm sure the strippers will adjust ;)

[SubGod22]

From what I've seen, coins last longer in circulation so they wouldn't have to print near as many as bills. Bills also fall apart faster and have to be replaced much more frequently than coins. But I believe some of that is because people don't use coins near as much so they don't take the abuse of bills.

Is there anybody out there that would actually prefer to have to carry dollar coins around than bills? I know the majority of Americans prefer to keep the bill even at the cost it brings.

[ShockBand]

They still don't last as long as coins, but perhaps we should look into polymer banknotes. They've been used in some countries since the late 1980s.

[SubGod22]

They still don't last as long as coins, but perhaps we should look into polymer banknotes. They've been used in some countries since the late 1980s.

I'll have to look into that. I'd really like to avoid going the direction of the coin.

[Shocker85]

I seem to recall that the lifetime of a $1 bill is somewhere around 16 months in circulation. Coins last much, much longer. Banks pull singles from circulation constantly. If you don't want to carry coins, you could use a debit card for all your small transactions. I don't like doing that, but there is a generation coming that seems very comfortable with it.

As for strippers - holding on to dollar coins is a skill of the trade.

--'85.

[SubGod22]

I hate doing that as well. Annoys me when I'm with friends that have done it. But it is what it is. We'll all adapt somehow. Most likely, they'll just join the other coins in some bucket or jar and sit there until cashed in.

[Kung Wu]

When TARP passed I once did a thought exercise: how many dollar bills could we conceivably print using the current serial number system? Answer: 83.2 billion. Price of TARP #1? 800 billion. We can't even print enough 1 dollar bills to cover 10% of the debt we created with a single act of Congress.

Now add in TARP 2, and the debt prior to TARP 1. I speculate that the total debt has exceeded the printed currency including all 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 1 and at 10.5 trillion, and may have exceeded the limits of our serial number system for all of those bills combined, though I haven't taken the time to combine it yet.

[Kung Wu]

Secondly, the US federal reserve is already sitting on $1 billion in coins that the public has already rejected:

http://www.npr.org/2011/06/28/137394...t-nobody-wants

[Wu du Nord]

A dollar isn't much money. It really really isn't. Really, it's not.

The smallest paper denomination of the Euro is 5. There are 1 and 2 Euro coins. In many Eurozone countries, coins smaller than 5 cents are disregarded entirely. Cash transactions at the register are rounded to the nearest 5 cent. There are some 2 cent pieces out there (Southern Europe mostly, I think. I know they used them in Greece last time I was there). The coin system works remarkably well, especially for parking meters and coke machines. It's nice to to have to straighten and force bills into those mechanic devices.

Wait. Cash? Who uses cash these days?

Also, if your stripper is charging you by the dollar, you probably have problems bigger than whether that dollar is paper or metal. ;-)

[ShockBand]

It costs more than 1 cent to produce a penny nowadays too.

[60Shock]

Once I got used to using the the 1 and 2 Euro coins, I really liked them. They also come in handy for purchasing metro tickets as well as the items Wu du Nord mentioned above.Tthe secret is just not to have too many in your pocket at one time. When they mount up simply stick your spouse with them along with the other coinage denominations.

[Kung Wu]

A dollar isn't much money. It really really isn't. Really, it's not.

That's very relative, but let's roll with it. Isn't that an argument FOR leaving a dollar in the form of paper, as opposed to coinage? The more you need of something the less you'd like it to weigh so that you don't have 20 coins clanging around in your pocket?

Also, if your stripper is charging you by the dollar, you probably have problems bigger than whether that dollar is paper or metal. ;-)

Good point, they should wear credit card swipers -- just don't swipe the wrong slot.


Edit: Where --> wear .. sheesh

[SB Shock]

A dollar isn't much money. It really really isn't. Really, it's not.

A month ago I could buy a large diet coke from McDonalds for a dollar.

[Wu du Nord]

A US Dollar today has roughly the same purchasing power as a quarter in the late 1970's. That's kinda the point I had in mind.

Personally, I like the Euro and 2 Euro coins. Easy to use. Probably more hygienic, as well.

I will say that they've got a little more heft and substance than the dollar coins that were introduce a few years back. Maybe that makes some qualitative difference in how people react to them as currency. I don't know. I rarely use physical money, but it is kinda nice to know that the change in your pocket actually has some purchasing power.


Maybe it's just that folks don't like change.



heh. I'm hilarious.