Another Simple Problem The US Gov't Can't Solve, WildCat's Solution

[WildCat]

The problem: (http://money.cnn.com/2005/04/27/pf/new_dollar/index.htm?cnn=yes)
Despite two wildly unsuccessful attempts to introduce a dollar coin, legislators are trying again.
This will fail again, unless my solution is implemented. Drum roll, please... and here it is:
STOP PRINTING PAPER DOLLARS!!!

There, I feel better now. Stupid frickin' gov't. :p

[RandFan]

Originally posted by WildCat
The problem: (http://money.cnn.com/2005/04/27/pf/new_dollar/index.htm?cnn=yes)

This will fail again, unless my solution is implemented. Drum roll, please... and here it is:
STOP PRINTING PAPER DOLLARS!!!

There, I feel better now. Stupid frickin' gov't. :p I've pondered the problem on numerous occassions. I hate to say it but you solved it. I came up with S&S Green Stamps or a 10% discount but I think your idea is better. :D

[The Central Scrutinizer]

They have turned it into a money making scheme, like they did with the State Quarters.

[Zep]

What?! Then THIS site will be in trouble...

http://www.wheresgeorge.com/

[Jocko]

Originally posted by WildCat
The problem: (http://money.cnn.com/2005/04/27/pf/new_dollar/index.htm?cnn=yes)

This will fail again, unless my solution is implemented. Drum roll, please... and here it is:
STOP PRINTING PAPER DOLLARS!!!

There, I feel better now. Stupid frickin' gov't. :p

Here's a better idea: STOP MINTING DOLLAR COINS! No one likes them, no one uses them, no one friggin' CARES about them.

We've finally progressed as a species to the point where pop machines, parking meters, etc. accept the paper stuff, and honestly... where else do you spend $1 at a time? Where's the percentage in retooling a gazillion machines just to make proponents of Susan B Anthony (or whover the next shill is) feel better?

I'd also dump the penny, nickel and diime. Put a Rushmore-like montage of Lincoln, Jefferson and Washington on the quarter, dumping Roosevelt altogether. There was once a time when his face would have been better suited to the ruble, anyway.

[BPSCG]

Originally posted by Jocko
Where's the percentage in retooling a gazillion machines just to make proponents of Susan B Anthony (or whover the next shill is) feel better?SBA is gone. It's Sacajawea. Get with the program.

BTW, nobody likes her, either
I'd also dump the penny, nickel and diime. Put a Rushmore-like montage of Lincoln, Jefferson and Washington on the quarter, dumping Roosevelt altogether. There was once a time when his face would have been better suited to the ruble, anyway. Wow - you'd take FDR off the currency and TR off Mount Rushmore. You must really hate the Roosevelts. What happened - did Jebediah Roosevelt steal your great-great-granddaddy's woman?

[Number Six]

I agree that dollar coins will never be widespread so long as a $1 paper bill exists. But it seems the government may make money just from collectors on this so it won't be a loss for them.

I'd like the government to get rid of the $1 bill and re-emphasize the $2 bill. Then the dollar coin would make it. Our pockets wouldn't be weighed down with $1 coins because we'd have $2 bills in our wallets instead.

And get rid of the penny too. And while you're at it, re-size all coins so that a larger coin is always worth more than a smaller coin.

And one more thing... move MLK Day from mid-January to early March or so. Nobody needs a holiday in mid-January. There are no national holidays (I don't think) from Jan 1 until Memorial Day at the end of May so after people have been slogging away through January and February is when they need a day off, not right after Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. Just because MLK passed through his mothers birth canal in mid-January doesn't mean that's when you have to have a holiday to honor him. After all, he didn't do anything for civil rights on that day.

And one more thing...get rid of President's Day. Presidents already get plenty of publicity.

And another thing...it's downright stupid to have a state and the nations capital with the same name. Either change the name of Washington state or else change Washington DC to simply DC.

If only I were king....

[Jocko]

Originally posted by BPSCG
SBA is gone. It's Sacajawea. Get with the program.

Shoulda called it "sack a' unused coins." Whatever, it just goes to show it doesn't pay to stick broads on currency.


Wow - you'd take FDR off the currency and TR off Mount Rushmore. You must really hate the Roosevelts. What happened - did Jebediah Roosevelt steal your great-great-granddaddy's woman?

No, no, no. I said a Rushmore-like montage on the quarter. The only reason I could see bumping Teddy off the mountain is to make room for Reagan. As for FDR, I think you of all people know where I'm coming from. :D

[pgwenthold]

After spending a week in Canada, I became a huge fan of dollar and two dollar coins.

They are especially convenient at the casino...:D

[Luke T.]

Originally posted by WildCat
The problem: (http://money.cnn.com/2005/04/27/pf/new_dollar/index.htm?cnn=yes)

This will fail again, unless my solution is implemented. Drum roll, please... and here it is:
STOP PRINTING PAPER DOLLARS!!!

There, I feel better now. Stupid frickin' gov't. :p

I have an even better idea on how to make the dollar coin wildly popular: Make them out of two ounces of gold.

[RandFan]

Originally posted by Jocko
Here's a better idea: STOP MINTING DOLLAR COINS! No one likes them, no one uses them, no one friggin' CARES about them.

We've finally progressed as a species to the point where pop machines, parking meters, etc. accept the paper stuff, and honestly... where else do you spend $1 at a time? Where's the percentage in retooling a gazillion machines just to make proponents of Susan B Anthony (or whover the next shill is) feel better?

I'd also dump the penny, nickel and diime. Put a Rushmore-like montage of Lincoln, Jefferson and Washington on the quarter, dumping Roosevelt altogether. There was once a time when his face would have been better suited to the ruble, anyway. Yes, but reason and government action are rarely the same thing.

[Random]

Originally posted by WildCat
The problem: (http://money.cnn.com/2005/04/27/pf/new_dollar/index.htm?cnn=yes)

This will fail again, unless my solution is implemented. Drum roll, please... and here it is:
STOP PRINTING PAPER DOLLARS!!!

This is pretty much what Canada did to put the Loonie in circulation. Stopped printing dollar bills, told the banks to hold dollar bills when they came in and sent out only the dollar coins. It was all over in about six months, and it’s all dollar coins.

[drkitten]

Originally posted by Jocko
Here's a better idea: STOP MINTING DOLLAR COINS! No one likes them, no one uses them, no one friggin' CARES about them.


Except for the US Mint (technically, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing), which is spending way too much money printing dollar bills, and trying to cut costs.

Why do you want the government to waste more money than it has to?

[Luke T.]

If the gov't stopped printing paper dollar bills, then the dollar coin would have to have a different face on it. You can't supplant Washington with Sacajawea. That's been the whole problem all along.

[Darat]

Fight to keep your one dollar notes! We lost our pound notes (except the Scottish) many moons ago and I still miss them! :(

[Jaggy Bunnet]

Originally posted by Darat
Fight to keep your one dollar notes! We lost our pound notes (except the Scottish) many moons ago and I still miss them! :(

The cost of producing a large number of extremely low value notes must be huge. I can see little benefit in keeping them.

I think (although I am not sure) that all of the Scottish banks have also stopped putting £1 notes into circulation. You certainly see very, very few of them nowadays.

[Darat]

Originally posted by Jaggy Bunnet
The cost of producing a large number of extremely low value notes must be huge. I can see little benefit in keeping them.

I think (although I am not sure) that all of the Scottish banks have also stopped putting £1 notes into circulation. You certainly see very, very few of them nowadays.

It’s not about the money it's about the notes! Seriously I do miss them, I hate ending up with a pocket full of pound coins rather then a wallet full.

[Charlie Monoxide]

They should also mint a 99 cent coin. This will help to keep the amount change to a minimum ....

Charlie (likes 2$ bills) Monoxide

[Jocko]

Originally posted by new drkitten
Except for the US Mint (technically, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing), which is spending way too much money printing dollar bills, and trying to cut costs.

Why do you want the government to waste more money than it has to?

Uh, because I prefer my small currency to fit in my wallet, and not come home at the end of the day with change from purchases that blows out the seams of my pockets, maybe?

Upgrade the paper in currency if that's a problem. Use a polymer. Whatever. Just spare me the whole friggin' dubloons act, that's SO 17th century.

[Random]

Originally posted by Jocko
Uh, because I prefer my small currency to fit in my wallet, and not come home at the end of the day with change from purchases that blows out the seams of my pockets, maybe?

Come on, how many dollar coins are you likely to have on your person at any point in time? How often do you go home at night with your pockets bulging with quarters?

As a practical matter, the largest number of dollar coins you would get back on any purchase would be four. Anything larger would get you a five-dollar bill. And you wouldn’t just be accumulating those coins, you would be spending them as well. You wouldn’t buy a three-dollar box of donuts with a twenty-dollar bill if you’re hauling around a dozen singles. Do you think you would use the twenty if you had a dozen dollar coins?

Pretty much every objection I’ve heard to going from the dollar bill to the dollar coin eventually comes down to “It’s always been this way and I don’t want to do anything different.�

[drkitten]

Originally posted by Random
You wouldn’t buy a three-dollar box of donuts with a twenty-dollar bill if you’re hauling around a dozen singles. Do you think you would use the twenty if you had a dozen dollar coins?


Force of habit can be a powerful thing. If you're used to pulling out
your wallet to pay for donuts instead of reaching into your pocket, you will probably still pull out your wallet.

[pgwenthold]

Originally posted by Jocko
Uh, because I prefer my small currency to fit in my wallet, and not come home at the end of the day with change from purchases that blows out the seams of my pockets, maybe?



To add to Random's comments, probably the main reason that you have a pocket full of change at the end of the day is that the change in your pocket isn't worth much. Therefore, you can't use it to buy much unless you have a lot of it (for example, you need 3 quarters to get a candy bar out of the vending machine).

Dollar coins still have value, and you can use them more often than you can use a single quarter. Morever, when you dig into your pocket to pull out change to get a dollar coin, you are more likely to pull out the rest of the exact change, which means you get rid of the other stuff more often, instead of going into your wallet and pulling out two ones.

Spend a week in Canada and give the coins a try sometime. I thought they were great.

Besides, it's a great excuse to hang out in Montreal.

[Random]

Originally posted by new drkitten


Force of habit can be a powerful thing. If you're used to pulling out
your wallet to pay for donuts instead of reaching into your pocket, you will probably still pull out your wallet. [/B]
Well yeah, I'd reach for my wallet, because my wallet has one of those little coin pouches which is where I keep my change. When I buy something with cash, I look to see if I have change for the purchase. If I do, I give it to them. I never have more than a bucks worth of loose change, so a maximum of four more coins doesn't seeme like a horrible inconvenience to me.

[pgwenthold]

Originally posted by new drkitten


Force of habit can be a powerful thing. If you're used to pulling out
your wallet to pay for donuts instead of reaching into your pocket, you will probably still pull out your wallet. [/B]

Didn't take me long to get over that habit when I was in Canada.

I used to laugh at my Canadian student who would bemoan the american system and would try to use Sacajawea dollars whenever he could. Then I went to Canada.

[Suddenly]

Originally posted by Charlie Monoxide
They should also mint a 99 cent coin. This will help to keep the amount change to a minimum ....

Charlie (likes 2$ bills) Monoxide

How about a set of coins worth $.89, $1.44, and $2.12?

Force people to learn math, and may stimulate the pocket calculator industry...

Legal (digs confusion) Penguin

[Jorghnassen]

Dollar coins are great. Now if only those stupid vending machines gave back a loonie instead of four quarters everytime I buy a Coke with a toonie...

[jj]

Well, it's obviously time to make $1 and $5 into coins, just to get the cost of issuing money down.

$1 bills cost quite a bit to make, and don't last nearly as long as $1. coins.

All of this stupid, wasteful whining about "don't make them" and about who is on it is a typical dismissive attitude from an arch-reactionary wastrel.

The OP is right. Stop making $1 and $5 bills now, and change them to coins, pronto. Get rid of pennies while we're at it, and make the nickel about the size of a penny. Our money is still sized as though it is worth something, never mind the years and years of republican-inspired inflation from the Vietnam and now the Iraq disasters.

[Ladewig]

Originally posted by Jocko
Upgrade the paper in currency if that's a problem. Use a polymer. Whatever. Just spare me the whole friggin' dubloons act, that's SO 17th century.

Hey, that gives me an idea. Get rid of all coins other than $1 coins, but make those coins scored so that they can be broken in halves, quarters, and eighths.

[Jocko]

Originally posted by jj
Well, it's obviously time to make $1 and $5 into coins, just to get the cost of issuing money down.

$1 bills cost quite a bit to make, and don't last nearly as long as $1. coins.

All of this stupid, wasteful whining about "don't make them" and about who is on it is a typical dismissive attitude from an arch-reactionary wastrel.

The OP is right. Stop making $1 and $5 bills now, and change them to coins, pronto. Get rid of pennies while we're at it, and make the nickel about the size of a penny. Our money is still sized as though it is worth something, never mind the years and years of republican-inspired inflation from the Vietnam and now the Iraq disasters.

Boy, jj, you're like a frickin' atom bomb. Everyone's having a good time, everyone's sharing a laugh, and then you show up and BOOM everything's a wasteland. Go derail some other thread, willya? And look into getting laid while you're at it. Seriously.

Back on topic...

If cost is an issue, like I said above, look into making them out of a proprietary polymer. Cheap as dirt and difficult to reverse-engineer, so you can use it for all denominations and worry less about counterfieting.

Coins are a pain in the ass. It's true for quarters, it'd be even more true for dollars because I reach for dollars more often than quarters. How many vending items do you see these days that cost much less than a dollar anyway?

Most importantly, what am I going to tuck into jj's sister's g-string? A coin? I don't think so.

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[Ziggurat]

Originally posted by Ladewig
Hey, that gives me an idea. Get rid of all coins other than $1 coins, but make those coins scored so that they can be broken in halves, quarters, and eighths.

Pieces of eight! Now THAT is a swashbuckling idea!

[Jocko]

Originally posted by Ziggurat
Pieces of eight! Now THAT is a swashbuckling idea!

I knew I was going to regret that dubloon remark. How many pieces of eight would it take to buy a shiny new Cutlass?

[pgwenthold]

Originally posted by Jocko
Most importantly, what am I going to tuck into jj's sister's g-string? A coin? I don't think so.

fivers, dude, fivers.

Hmmm, perhaps this is why stripclubs are so dang popular in Montreal. Very lucrative occupation, because everyone's throwing you fivers.

BTW, it is the fact that you are always pulling out ones that make dollar coins more convenient. Instead of having to dig into your wallet, you just pull out a coin to cover it.

See my post above. You can't compare dollar coins to current US change because US change is worthless, and isn't any good for anything. $1s are certainly useful, which means your change is actually good for something if you have a dollar coin.

[AWPrime]

Originally posted by Darat
Fight to keep your one dollar notes! We lost our pound notes (except the Scottish) many moons ago and I still miss them! :(


I miss the old Gulden bills:

http://aes.iupui.edu/rwise/banknotes/netherlands/NetherlandsP99-10Gulden-1999-donatedoy_f.jpg
http://aes.iupui.edu/rwise/banknotes/netherlands/NetherlandsP99-10Gulden-1999-donatedoy_b.jpg

http://aes.iupui.edu/rwise/banknotes/netherlands/NetherlandsP100-25Gulden-1989-donatedoy_f.jpg
http://aes.iupui.edu/rwise/banknotes/netherlands/NetherlandsP100-25Gulden-1989-donatedsb_b.jpg

http://aes.iupui.edu/rwise/banknotes/netherlands/NetherlandsP101-100Gulden-1992(1993)-donatedoy_f.jpg
http://aes.iupui.edu/rwise/banknotes/netherlands/NetherlandsP101-100Gulden-1992(1993)-donatedoy_b.jpg

[Grammatron]

Originally posted by AWPrime
I miss the old Gulden bills:

http://aes.iupui.edu/rwise/banknotes/netherlands/NetherlandsP99-10Gulden-1999-donatedoy_f.jpg
http://aes.iupui.edu/rwise/banknotes/netherlands/NetherlandsP99-10Gulden-1999-donatedoy_b.jpg

http://aes.iupui.edu/rwise/banknotes/netherlands/NetherlandsP100-25Gulden-1989-donatedoy_f.jpg
http://aes.iupui.edu/rwise/banknotes/netherlands/NetherlandsP100-25Gulden-1989-donatedsb_b.jpg

http://aes.iupui.edu/rwise/banknotes/netherlands/NetherlandsP101-100Gulden-1992(1993)-donatedoy_f.jpg
http://aes.iupui.edu/rwise/banknotes/netherlands/NetherlandsP101-100Gulden-1992(1993)-donatedoy_b.jpg

That's some sci-fi looking currency.

[BPSCG]

Originally posted by Jocko
I knew I was going to regret that dubloon remark. How many pieces of eight would it take to buy a shiny new Cutlass? If by Cutlass, you mean this:

http://www.dutchermotors.com/truckin17.jpg

...then you're SOL, if you want a new one 'cuz they don't make 'em any more.

But if you send me enough pieces of eight, I can find out where that window candy lives for you.

OTOH, if you mean this:

http://www.antiques-arms.com/catalog/images/tep111.jpg

The current high bid on eBay (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=66638&item=7317366168&rd=1) is about $154.00.

[AWPrime]

Originally posted by Grammatron
That's some sci-fi looking currency.

Yes, they were one of the most safe ones in existance.

The guys that made these, wanted to design the Euro bills. But sadly only the bill presses in the Netherlands were advanced enough to print them.:(

[Grammatron]

Originally posted by AWPrime
Yes, they were one of the most safe ones in existance.

The guys that made these, wanted to design the Euro bills. But sadly only the bill presses in the Netherlands were advanced enough to print them.:(

I like the design a lot, certainly better than the current Euro.

[kimiko]

Originally posted by AWPrime
I miss the old Gulden bills:

http://aes.iupui.edu/rwise/banknotes/netherlands/NetherlandsP99-10Gulden-1999-donatedoy_f.jpg
http://aes.iupui.edu/rwise/banknotes/netherlands/NetherlandsP99-10Gulden-1999-donatedoy_b.jpg

http://aes.iupui.edu/rwise/banknotes/netherlands/NetherlandsP100-25Gulden-1989-donatedoy_f.jpg
http://aes.iupui.edu/rwise/banknotes/netherlands/NetherlandsP100-25Gulden-1989-donatedsb_b.jpg

http://aes.iupui.edu/rwise/banknotes/netherlands/NetherlandsP101-100Gulden-1992(1993)-donatedoy_f.jpg
http://aes.iupui.edu/rwise/banknotes/netherlands/NetherlandsP101-100Gulden-1992(1993)-donatedoy_b.jpg Very pretty money. I like the 25 guilder note the best.

[Jocko]

Originally posted by BPSCG
If by Cutlass, you mean this:

...then you're SOL, if you want a new one 'cuz they don't make 'em any more.

But if you send me enough pieces of eight, I can find out where that window candy lives for you.


Fine, go ahead and one-up my simple little pun with yer high-falootin' pikchures of girlies.

I recently bought this puppy, speaking of the classic muscle cars and the trim they attract:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/bill_lindich/f53529c2.jpg

[AWPrime]

Originally posted by kimiko
Very pretty money. I like the 25 guilder note the best.

A lot of toerists thought the same thing.

We never saw those bills again.

[Ladewig]

Originally posted by AWPrime
I miss the old Gulden bills:

http://aes.iupui.edu/rwise/banknotes/netherlands/NetherlandsP99-10Gulden-1999-donatedoy_f.jpg
http://aes.iupui.edu/rwise/banknotes/netherlands/NetherlandsP99-10Gulden-1999-donatedoy_b.jpg

http://aes.iupui.edu/rwise/banknotes/netherlands/NetherlandsP100-25Gulden-1989-donatedoy_f.jpg
http://aes.iupui.edu/rwise/banknotes/netherlands/NetherlandsP100-25Gulden-1989-donatedsb_b.jpg

http://aes.iupui.edu/rwise/banknotes/netherlands/NetherlandsP101-100Gulden-1992(1993)-donatedoy_f.jpg
http://aes.iupui.edu/rwise/banknotes/netherlands/NetherlandsP101-100Gulden-1992(1993)-donatedoy_b.jpg

But we are left with two questions:

Where is the picture of the 1000 guilden note?

and

What would you do for a "rooie"?

[AWPrime]

Originally posted by Ladewig
But we are left with two questions:

Where is the picture of the 1000 guilden note?
I never held one in my hands, so I don't miss it.


What would you do for a "rooie"?
I will say; hallo.

hallo.

[billydkid]

Originally posted by RandFan
I've pondered the problem on numerous occassions. I hate to say it but you solved it. I came up with S&S Green Stamps or a 10% discount but I think your idea is better. :D

Are S&S Green Stamps still around? You brought up a long forgotten childhood memory - My mom collecting S&S Green Stamps and going to the Green Stamp store to buy something when she accumulated enough. And I remember going to the grocery store and they had those Green Stamp dispensing contraptions - seems to me it had a dial like an old phone. I doubt many people around here even remember Green Stamps. She also collected Raleigh cigarette coupons - I remember stacks and stacks of them around the house.

[Ladewig]

Originally posted by billydkid
Are S&S Green Stamps still around? You brought up a long forgotten childhood memory - My mom collecting S&S Green Stamps and going to the Green Stamp store to buy something when she accumulated enough. And I remember going to the grocery store and they had those Green Stamp dispensing contraptions - seems to me it had a dial like an old phone. I doubt many people around here even remember Green Stamps. She also collected Raleigh cigarette coupons - I remember stacks and stacks of them around the house.

Are you two thinking of S&H (Sperry & Hutchinson) Green Stamps?

[SlippyToad]

Originally posted by Jocko
Shoulda called it "sack a' unused coins." Whatever, it just goes to show it doesn't pay to stick broads on currency.



[B]

No, no, no. I said a Rushmore-like montage on the quarter. The only reason I could see bumping Teddy off the mountain is to make room for Reagan. As for FDR, I think you of all people know where I'm coming from. :D If you want to put Reagan on a coin, buddy, I'm afraid you'll have value it as a negative number. How about -$2.7 billion? Is that about right?

[SlippyToad]

Originally posted by SlippyToad
If you want to put Reagan on a coin, buddy, I'm afraid you'll have value it as a negative number. How about -$2.7 billion? Is that about right? Oh, my. I posted so late at night. As I am again. I meant -2.7 trillion.

[RandFan]

Originally posted by billydkid
Are S&S Green Stamps still around? No, it's just one of the bits of useless trivia floating around in my head.

You brought up a long forgotten childhood memory - My mom collecting S&S Green Stamps and going to the Green Stamp store to buy something when she accumulated enough. And I remember going to the grocery store and they had those Green Stamp dispensing contraptions - seems to me it had a dial like an old phone. I doubt many people around here even remember Green Stamps. She also collected Raleigh cigarette coupons - I remember stacks and stacks of them around the house. I'm not certain that my Mom collected them. I only faintly remember them and a Brady Bunch episode that bemoaned their passing. I think Green Stamps have become iconic for marketing gimmicks. Of course every successive generation lessens the their iconic value.