The main resistance to the dollar coin in the US is that no one wants to carry
a big pocket full of change around. Replacing the dollar bill with a coin
makes sense, but only if you get rid of the penny at the same time. That
would require rounding up or down on some items. Unfortunately many Americans
are paranoid about losing a cent or two if merchants round up more often than
they round down. But what is even crazier, in the US everything is priced at $
2.99, $11.95 and even $99.99, and the real price is usually five to eight
percent higher, depending on taxes, so the real price might be $3.23, $12.91
and $107.99 (which includes rounding, by the way).
In many countries the price of a hamburger is listed as $3 and really is $3,
not listed as $2.99 and really costing $3.23. That is what results in a pocket
full of annoying change, and a dollar coin will make it worse. >From personal
experience in New Zealand, there are no pennies and you almost never see a 5 or
10 cent coin. They have $1 and $2 coins, but because almost all prices are
"round" you still have less change in your pocket than you do in the US.
Until merchants in the US are forced to become honest and post the real price
(and stop playing the silly game of ninety-nine cents) and Americans stop being
afraid of paying an extra penny or two once in a while, the penny will not go
away and the dollar coin will remain a nuisance.
Alan Lawrence
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The New Busy think 9 to 5 is a cute idea. Combine multiple calendars with
Hotmail.
http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy?tile=multicalendar&ocid=PID28326::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WM_HMP:042010_5
