Eliminating $1 Bills Could Save Billions <!--Yahoo! Finance evergreen article module--><CITE>by Seth Fiegerman Wednesday, March 9, 2011</CITE> Share <IFRAME height=22 src="http://d.yimg.com/bm/social_buttons/facebook-share-iframe.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffinance.yahoo.com%2Fbanking-budgeting%2Farticle%2F112302%2Feliminating-1-bills-could-save-billions%3Fmod%3Dbb-budgeting&t=eliminating-1-bills-could-save-billions%3A%20Personal%20Finance%20News%20from%20Yahoo%21%20Finance&l=Share" frameBorder=0 width=94 allowTransparency scrolling=no _yuid="yui_3_1_1_2_130080419406663"></IFRAME> retweet <IFRAME height=22 src="http://pro.tweetmeme.com/button.js?url=http%3A%2F%2Ffinance.yahoo.com%2Fbanking-budgeting%2Farticle%2F112302%2Feliminating-1-bills-could-save-billions%3Fmod%3Dbb-budgeting&style=compact&service=bit.ly" frameBorder=0 width=90 allowTransparency scrolling=no _yuid="yui_3_1_1_2_130080419406667"></IFRAME> Email Print <!--Yahoo! Finance evergreen article module-->provided by Washington has come down with a case of fiscal fever as the Obama administration proposes everything from spending freezes on domestic programs to selling off unused government property to bring the budget back in line. Now, one study argues that the government can save billions of dollars simply by making a change to the currency itself. <TABLE style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #d7deee 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #d7deee 1px solid; MARGIN: 10px; BORDER-TOP: #d7deee 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: #d7deee 1px solid" width="40%" align=right><TBODY><TR><TD style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 10px; PADDING-RIGHT: 10px; PADDING-TOP: 10px">More from Mainstreet.com: • 5 True Tales Getting Out Debt • The Death of the Traveler's Check • Online Hotel Booking: 4 Red Flags to Avoid </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> Earlier this month, the U.S. Government Accountability Office issued a formal proposal to the Treasury and Federal Reserve noting that if it eliminated the $1 bill and replaced it with the $1 coin, the country could save roughly $5.5 billion during the next 30 years. The reason, according to the agency's report, is that dollar bills have a shorter lifespan than dollar coins because they wear much faster, which in turn requires the government to spend more to print new bills. The GAO estimates that phasing out dollar bills in favor of coins would require a four-year transition period, during which the government invests in the new currency, but following that, the government would save an expected $522 million each year from the change. Unfortunately, as the GAO notes, there is one problem with the plan: When given a choice between dollar coins and dollar bills, Americans always choose bills. "GAO has noted in past reports that efforts to increase the circulation and public acceptance of the $1 coin have not succeeded, in part, because the $1 note has remained in circulation," the agency wrote in its report. So if we are ever going to make the switch to dollar coins, as other countries like Canada have done, the GAO suggests the only way to do so is to phase dollar bills out of circulation altogether. Before you start hoarding your dollar bills though, keep in mind that the GAO has made similar proposals four times during the past two decades, and obviously dollar bills are still in circulation. The only difference this time is that the overall climate in Washington is more geared toward budget cutbacks now, but given that it would take several years for the savings to kick in, this seems unlikely as well. <!-- SpaceID=2142045426 loc=FSQR noad --><SCRIPT language=javascript>if(window.yzq_d==null)window.yzq_d=new Object();window.yzq_d['dceKQmKImlE-']='&U=12cm7gfpb%2fN%3ddceKQmKImlE-%2fC%3d-1%2fD%3dFSQR%2fB%3d-1%2fV%3d0';</SCRIPT><NOSCRIPT></NOSCRIPT><!--Yahoo! Finance evergreen article module-->Still, we'd like to pose the question to readers. Would you be willing to eliminate dollar bills and switch to coins if it meant improving the country's balance sheet? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Okay, now for my 2 cents. #1 make pennys go away! They aren't worth squat to purchase anything. Note; we haven't been using the "half dollar" for some time and we are doing quite fine thank you. So, #2 lets resize our coins size wise this way: no more dollar bills, and dollar coins the size of an old quarter. Quarters the size of old dimes. Dimes the size of nickels. And last nickels the size of old pennies. No half dollars at all and no pennies. The size change makes sense for these reasons; at present dollars are the common paper currency in the USA (likewise the quarter coin now. Swap them), the quarter so common now would be less of a burden in your pocket if it were the size of a dime. Last but not least, devaluing the coins so to speak, by just moving them down a notch and eliminating the half dollar and penny (neither of which is usable in most vending machines at all) will make it easier for the vending machine industry to adapt as well. JMHO, and I do approve of doing this to safe billions of dollars.....
How many times has the FED tried introducing dollar coins? Too many, you'd think they would get it right eventually. Pennies cost more to make then their value. OK, get rid of them, then what happens? Would all transactions be rounded up/down to the nearest nickle? Maybe we keep the "penny" for all electronic transactions but all cash transactions are rounded. Has the FED gotten rid of the $2 bill yet? I still see them every now and then.
We could save 5.5 billion over 30 years! With a deficit measured in the tens of trillions, I am very unimpressed! They have raped the taxpayers by wasting hundred dollar bills and now want to save a few pennies. WOW.
On a practical sense I wish they would do it that is get rid of the penny and dollar bill... I would love to the the marketing ploys and the new ON SALE only $19.95
The thought of hauling around a pocketful of jangling metal does NOT thrill me. It'll be non-precious metal - so no functional difference from the FRNs we use now - valueless in themselves. I see no valid reason to change. Maybe the 'coin purses' of ancient times will become a fashion accessory again. Heck, bring back the codpiece, tunic hose too. We can all wear the heraldry symbols of our favorite sports teams, companies and movie idols......
Seriously, if I go out on a spending spree loaded with a fat wallet of 100's, 50's and 20's, I come home with a ton of change and singles. What good are pennies? Yes round up or down. What good are dollars except as tips or thong stuffers on strip clubs. Make the change. Yes 5.5 billion might be a drop in the bucket compared to the National debt, but why piss it away. Just do it.
You want to explain yourself a little clearer here, or shall we read whatever we want into this statement?
Sagging britches means either weighed down with coins or a gun with intent to use it to acquire frns from someone else. Now, one might conclude that sagging pants would hinder movement, up to and including pulling out a gun or a handful of coins, so you can rush him, trip him and take whichever he has in his pockets --- (Or his 300frn tenny runners, if you lean that way.) Or, sagging pantaloons might be a style statement, one which can be altered by de-pantzing him. Northern winter is better for that, methinks. Or read it anyway other ---
1st, END THE FED. 2nd, and on a lighter note...Europe uses coins for small denominations, and the lowest bills I remember using were 5 Euros. They still used Euro-pennies, which was annoying though. 3rd, END THE FED.
I save the otherwise useless pennies for our annual fund raising "Penny Wars" at work. I generally have enough by that time to fill the jar halfway up in one go! I felt better keeping them back when they were made of copper........
I say, leave them the way it is. Will not be long till pennies will be hoarded as "gold". I remember my dear old grandmother tying coins into the corner of hankerchiefs and stuffing it into her bra. She did not waste anything and did not lose money of any denomination. Speaking of gold--Jefferson said: do not let the banks and gub take you off the gold system-they will, by inflation/depression own your homes/property and you will become renters on the land your forefathers fought for. He also said that bankers are more dangerous that standing armies. What a very wise man. What is happening today???????????
Those grandparents were true survivors, I remember mine doing some of the most amazing things....and you are right, they never wasted...never. As Jefferson goes, he was indeed wise. Entire semesters of high school should be devoted to studying Jefferson in my opinion! Heck, I would even be happy to know anybody in the White House knew about Jefferson come to think about it. Oh heck, that's right, he is and old outdated dude that couldn't relate to present day America right? Yeah.....kind of like that ole outdated and flawed constitution that we used to govern with in this nation. Wow.
