WASHINGTON (AP) — American consumers have shown about as much appetite for the $1 coin as kids do their spinach. They may not know what's best for them either. Congressional auditors say doing away with dollar bills entirely and replacing them with dollar coins could save taxpayers some $4.4 billion over the next 30 years.
Vending machine operators have long championed the use of $1 coins because they don't jam the machines, cutting down on repair costs and lost sales. But most people don't seem to like carrying them. In the past five years, the U.S. Mint has produced 2.4 billion Presidential $1 coins. Most are stored by the Federal Reserve, and production was suspended about a year ago.
The latest projection from the Government Accountability Office on the potential savings from switching to dollar coins entirely comes as lawmakers begin exploring new ways for the government to save money by changing the money itself.
The Mint is preparing a report for Congress showing how changes in the metal content of coins could save money.
7 comments:
this a great idea. Did you know that it's 30 years old? We could have already saved the 4.4 billion! Why didn't the government do it? taxpayers whined. It's time our leaders thought about our country and not just about re election.
Either do it or shut up. I cannot tell you how many times this little nugget has surfaced. Get rid of the dollar bill. Get rid of pennies. Do nothing. We'll talk about it again in another 10 years or so. Blah, blah, blah.
If they can't produce pennies and nickels cost effectively, how the hell is a dollar coin going to effective? Just because the Canadians do it does not mean it is a good idea. As our mothers said many times, if your friends jumped off a cliff, would you?
I like how the last line snuck in... Further debasement of our currency. Got silver?
The dollar is the new penny.
MAKE IT BIGGER SO WE DON'T MISTAKE IT FOR A QUARTER.
Let's just abandon the USA currency as a whole, and start out own currency that reflects what we are all trading without the Federal Reserve funny money.
Post a Comment