2000-02-22
There are a few excuses why the dollar bill still circulates.
1.) When it was decided to give the ok to make a new dollar coin,
Congressmen from states that supply the materials for printing bills would
not approve the new dollar coin unless it was agreed that there would be no
reduction in printing of the dollar bill. Thus, not only are old dollar
bills still in circulation, new ones are printed to replace the older ones
that wear out.
2.) The US never removes money from circulation even when the bill is
redesigned. The old bill is only removed by attrition, that is when it is
worn out. There is a belief that if you start to pull your money out of
circulation and have cut-off dates for when a bill is no longer valid, then
people will lose confidence in the money. Many people in foreign countries
associate the replacement of bills with economic disaster and lose
confidence in currencies that are always changing. Even though this is not
the case with the dollar, it is still used as an excuse.
3.) The people don't want a dollar coin, no matter how practical. Dollar
coins look like quarters and easily cause confusion, they are heavy and can
easily get lost.
I always thought the perfect compromise to 1 and 3 would be to produce the
two dollar bill along with the coin. Change for a 5 $ bill can be 2-2 $
bills and 1-1$ coin. But, that makes too much sense.
Probably the reason America doesn't do it is because everyone else does.
America didn't come up with the idea first. Doing something that is done
somewhere else is a reason not to do it. In other words plain old American
arrogance.
John
Keiner ist hoffnungsloser versklavt als derjenige, der irrtümlich glaubt
frei zu sein.
There are none more hopelessly enslaved then those who falsely believe they
are free!
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stephen C. Gallagher" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Thursday, 2001-02-22 08:28
Subject: [USMA:11225] Re: Sacagawea dollar coin fiasco as it relates to
metrication
> As you stated, the only way that this coin will come into
> popular use is to take the one dollar bill out of circulation.
>
>
