But not as convenient as a $3 bill...
Posted on 03/16/2007 10:49:39 AM PDT by Arec Barrwin
Scrap the Greenback!It's time to get rid of the dollar bill.
By Christopher Bonanos
So the United States is introducing dollar coins, again. Earlier this month, the Treasury put George Washington's face on a golden coin, the first in a limited run that will eventually include almost every American president. (Only presidents who have been dead two years will be depicted, so if Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and the Bushes are still healthy when their turns arrive, the series will end with the Gipper.) This is the government's fourth attempt to move American spenders from dollar bills to dollar coins, after three flops that satisfied nobody but coin collectors. But these quite sensible efforts are destined to fail unless the Treasury finally does what it should have done long ago: Stop printing dollar bills.
(Excerpt) Read more at slate.com ...
I also think we should go ahead & change to the metric system, but that's a topic for another time.
Metric dollars.
Actually, it's not just Europe. Only 3 countries in the world don't use the metric system; the USA, Liberia, and Myanmar (Burma).
When the US Mint weenies ever figure out that the US dollar coin shoulnt be close to the size of a quarter, then maybe people might use them. All the other dollar coin attemps have been laughable! I suspect though that the new coin will be close to the quarter size too!
It will be the same size as the Anthony and Sacajawea dollars because the vending machine industry requires it to be so. Retrofitting would be too expensive.
The advantage of coins is that they don't wear out in 18 months (which is the life expectancy of a dollar bill). The treasury would save oodles of money if they didn't have to print so many dollars.
Of course, the disadvantage to coins is carrying all that change around. I've done that in Europe and it's no fun. There's no Euro bill under a 5. It's the same in Canada.
I never lose dollar bills, because I keep them in my wallet.
It is the same (bad) metal content, size and weight as the Squawbuck.
YES! Dump the paper dollar.
Also I've discovered that the paper dollars don't have the same melt value as the coins.
In the name of God, do not go metric. You have no idea the problems it causes, and it is not more accurate, particularly as regards temperature. And no one likes it save the french. Tells you something.
The coins weigh too much.
Yeah...but what's gonna happen on the first summer day when the weather forecast says a high of 33 today...and people are wearing heavy coats wondering why they're SO DAMN HOT!! BTW 33 degrees Celcius is about 93 Fahrenheit.
The Brits pound coin is great and just the right size.
Exactly. Joe Six-Pack isn't going to realize that a forecast high of 22 (Celcius) in April is a pleasant spring day, not a hard freeze.
We use the metric system exclusively where I work. It's ok. I just like to leave it at work.
I agree. They keep making these coins and people
keep putting them away. The tailors love them, as the
guy's pants pocket will wear out in record time with these
heavier coins.. I think the $2. bills need to be used
more - they don[t put enough of these out...Paper money
folds, easier to carry, and fits under the mattress
with no bumps... Forget the coins..etc. JK
Ah, yes, the infamously inadequate "but everybody ELSE is doing it" argument. You need to understand that there's an unwritten rule regarding its use, and it is this: only former "Gong Show" consolation prize winners are allowed to use it; the rest of us have to come up with something more robust.
We should all fall on our knees and praise Jesus that "everybody else is doing it" didn't cut the mustard during the writing of the Constitution of the United States. In the annals of human history, it may well prove to be the case that, the greatest gift one group of men has ever bestowed upon another is the American Representative Republican form of government, something that exactly NOBODY else was doing, at the time, nor had anybody else ever tried it before.
As for the metric system, hudnreds of thousands of American Engineers, Machinists, and Manufacturing personnel already use it daily; there's zero need to get government involved, unless your goal is to totally gum up the works. Industries are currently using whatever system of measure best suits their particualr needs; some are using both depending upon internal criteria. I use Imperial units on some projects, and SI units on others. And, of course, there's always the dirty little secret that nobody wants to discuss: many foreign Engineers, Machinists and Manufacturing personnel are using Imperial units daily, too.
Ultimately, it doesn't matter what you call the unit of measure, it matters what the physical dimensions of the product are are. One person measures it and says, "It's 1.00 inch long", and another measures it and says, "It's 2.54 centimeters long"; six of one a half-dozen of the other. It doesn't matter what system of units the Machinist was using to create that part, only that his work product is within specifications for the desired application.
I remember in the 1970's when there was the last big government push to force the whole country to "go metric". That worked almost as well as nailing Jell-o to a tree. We certainly don't need to precipitate a repeat performance.
Just let it be.
When I was a kid, i went to the movies. On saturday aftrenoon it was $1.50.
I gave the lady $2 and she gave me back 2 Susan B Anthony dollars. I was pumped.
I also think we should go ahead & change to the metric system, but that's a topic for another time.
I agree completely.
I love change, when it's an improvement.
As soon as you go metric, you start watching soccer.
men will carry purses and wear bellbottoms. (ok that last one came out of left field)
But not as convenient as a $3 bill...
Coins are stupid and annoying. I can't wait to get rid of the coins weighing in my pockets at the end of each day. And nothing feels as good as a big wad of CASH in your hand (nope...not even that).
most people in the service industry don't like dollar coins either. i can't imagine trying to walk home after a shift carrying a couple hundred dollars worth in coin.
Metric is for faggots. Imperial rules. There is something very natural about Base-12 measurements. 12 apostles. 12 hours. 12 months. 12 signs of the zodiac.
Metric is for faggots. Imperial rules. There is something very natural about Base-12 measurements. 12 apostles. 12 hours. 12 months. 12 signs of the zodiac.
Great article. I'm all for dollar coins. Great for vending machines, toll roads, and leaving tips. I'm tired of digging through my wallet and seeing crumpled $1 that look like a dog has chewed on it.
...Reagan belongs on this coin simply for putting the breaks on metric conversion. I remember when the signs came down.
That is the reason I will not use the coin. They put In God We Trust on the SIDE of the coin.
US Today recently reported a good many of the coins were minted without In God We Trust on the coins (from both mints)
Yes, I know. I said Europe because it's the only other region that matters.
All attempts at dollar coins starting with the Susan B. Anthony and continuing to present day were too close in size to the US quarter-dollar. This new dollar will fail just like the Susan B. Anthony and for the same reason.
Actually, the metal content has been changed slightly so that is won't tarnish so badly and quickly.
"It's high time to drop the dollar bill"
What about the strip joint? How does one tip the ladies with a dollar coin?
But could we at least get a coin that appears to have value and not simply a gold coored bit of pot medal that looks like a poorly struck quarter???
You're out of touch with America.
People have no use for dollar coins; it's so much easier to carry bills. (vending machine operators see this differently)
The metric system is not just a pain in the ass, it's a disaster looking for a place to happen. Conversions from useful, natural units to metric units has already cost us a Mars lander, and countless law suits due to errors in maps, and deeds. Why change? So many things are on the U.S. system world wide, such as piping, wheels and tires, and type faces.
It's all part of the culture war. Erase America, and the ill-advised freedoms that came with it. Serfdom for all (except the 'leaders')
Strike that - that was a change the mint was going to make and then didn't. So expect them to get ugly fast.
"It is the same (bad) metal content, size and weight as the Squawbuck."
No, not another Sasquatch dollar....sigh
A crashed Mars lander, caused by federal edict that all data has to be published in metric, so the physicists and engineers had to convert to metric after they had designed in normal US units.
You put it in the slot?
DOH!
If they went to dollar coins someone's going to just glue a few to the ground and laugh at people as they try to pick them up.
You can say that again!
(oh! you already did)
Ding! Ding! Winner!
The repeated attempts to foist a dollar coin on an unwilling population is nothing more than a pander to the automatic vending industry. It didn't work with the Ike. It didn't work with Susan B. It didn't work with the gold Sac. It won't work with assorted dead presidents either. PEOPLE DON"T WANT A POCKET FULL OF DOLLAR COINS!!!
10 fingers, 10 toes. Our number system is base 10. I'm fully versant in both, but when it comes to doing any sort of calculations with them, I'll take metric any day. It's so elegant - 1 liter = 1,000 cc = 1 kg (1 cc of water weighs 1 gram). A force of 1 Newton will accelerate a mass of 1 kg at 1 m/s^2. And so on. It's a system that was designed to make some sort of sense. The old imperial/US system is a hopeless mish-mash of weird multiples (why not 12 oz in a pint, then? Or 12 oz in a pound? What multiple of 12 is a ton? And so on).
Having said that, since I grew up with the old system, I will still refer to distances in inches, feet, yards or miles, weights in pounds, and temperatures in degrees Farenheit, especially temperatures above freezing. Temps below freezing make more sense to me in Celsius. (like I said, the system changed over during my youth)
Visit Canada and you will see ...
I'll bet the physicists and engineers mostly work in metric, and any US units only crept in my mistake. I've used both and would much rather make engineering calculations in metric.
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