Congress looks at doing away with the $1 bill

[Wehrwolfen]

Congress looks at doing away with the $1 bill​

1 Dec 2012

(AP) Congress looks at doing away with the $1 bill
By KEVIN FREKING
Associated Press
WASHINGTON


American consumers have shown about as much appetite for the $1 coin as kids do their spinach. They may not know what's best for them either. Congressional auditors say doing away with dollar bills entirely and replacing them with dollar coins could save taxpayers some $4.4 billion over the next 30 years.

Vending machine operators have long championed the use of $1 coins because they don't jam the machines, cutting down on repair costs and lost sales. But most people don't seem to like carrying them. In the past five years, the U.S. Mint has produced 2.4 billion Presidential $1 coins. Most are stored by the Federal Reserve, and production was suspended about a year ago.

The latest projection from the Government Accountability Office on the potential savings from switching to dollar coins entirely comes as lawmakers begin exploring new ways for the government to save money by changing the money itself.

The Mint is preparing a report for Congress showing how changes in the metal content of coins could save money.

The last time the government made major metallurgical changes in U.S. coins was nearly 50 years ago when Congress directed the Mint to remove silver from dimes and quarters and to reduce its content in half dollar coins. Now, Congress is looking at new changes in response to rising prices for copper and nickel.

At a House subcommittee hearing Thursday, the focus was on two approaches:

_Moving to less expensive combinations of metals like steel, aluminum and zinc.

_Gradually taking dollar bills out the economy and replacing them with coins.

[ecerpt]

Read more:
Congress looks at doing away with the $1 bill

 

[Mr. H.]

Cool. While they're at it they can get rid of the penny like Canada recently did.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

It makes financial sense to move to a dollar coin instead.

 

[whitehall]

Do they even consider that Americans would rather have paper currency in their billfold than a pocket of heavy coins? You can't even find a dollar coin in change these days although they are still legal currency. Why not establish a $3 bill? You could put Barney Franks' image on it.

 

[AmyNation]

If its cheaper, do it.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

Do they even consider that Americans would rather have paper currency in their billfold than a pocket of heavy coins? You can't even find a dollar coin in change these days although they are still legal currency. Why not establish a $3 bill? You could put Barney Franks' image on it.

Do you consider the $16 trillion debt we have and growing? We need to cut expenses where ever we can. Ceasing the printing of the $1 bill would save a few billion a year because the coins last for decades. The bills are replaced about every three to five years.

 

[Mr. H.]

There's never any need to carry more than four $1 bills or coins at a time.
Tink boutit.

 

[ABikerSailor]

I wonder............................if we switch over to dollar coins instead of bills, does this mean that the strippers are going to be wearing buckets on either side of their g-strings?

 

[Lakhota]

Damn, that could make lap dances very uncomfortable...

 

[MDiver]

I'd like to see the penny go the way of the dodo. It's the most annoying change one can receive.

 

[ABikerSailor]

I'd like to see the penny go the way of the dodo. It's the most annoying change one can receive.

Yanno.................I've got a piggybank that has a digital counter that can tell the difference between a penny, nickle, dime, and quarter.

I've had this piggybank since I got it for my birthday in July, and just in the change that I've put in it (pennies, nickles and dimes only, no quarters, they go somewhere else).

Know how much I've collected since then in just pennies, nickles and dimes (with the majority of them being pennies)?

Almost 30 bucks. I've probably got the same amount in quarters as well.

Like I was told growing up............."pennies make nickels, and nickles make dimes, and dimes make dollars, and dollars add up".

 

[Againsheila]

I'd like to see the penny go the way of the dodo. It's the most annoying change one can receive.

I don't think so. I save all my change and when I have enough, roll it up and take it to the bank. That's my extra spending money that I can spend on whatever I want. Sometimes it adds up to a pretty penny. Pun intended.

 

[JoeB131]

I wonder............................if we switch over to dollar coins instead of bills, does this mean that the strippers are going to be wearing buckets on either side of their g-strings?

Oh, you had to go there!

 

[waltky]

Been there, tried dat...

... ain't gonna happen...

... bills are cheaper to produce than coins...

...dey tried it with the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin...

... (seen any o' dem lately?)...

... it made people list to one side...

... dependin' which pocket dey carried `em in.

 

[ba1614]

Cool. While they're at it they can get rid of the penny like Canada recently did.

I've been spending quite a bit of time up there, and at first folks were hesitant getting rid of the 1 and 2 dollar bills replacing them with coins. Now that everyone is use to it most really like it.
Any ya, not making any more pennies is a good idea too.

 

[Two Thumbs]

I wonder............................if we switch over to dollar coins instead of bills, does this mean that the strippers are going to be wearing buckets on either side of their g-strings?

I know you know what a "Peso dance" is.

 

[Two Thumbs]

Congress looks at doing away with the $1 bill​

1 Dec 2012

(AP) Congress looks at doing away with the $1 bill
By KEVIN FREKING
Associated Press
WASHINGTON


American consumers have shown about as much appetite for the $1 coin as kids do their spinach. They may not know what's best for them either. Congressional auditors say doing away with dollar bills entirely and replacing them with dollar coins could save taxpayers some $4.4 billion over the next 30 years.

Vending machine operators have long championed the use of $1 coins because they don't jam the machines, cutting down on repair costs and lost sales. But most people don't seem to like carrying them. In the past five years, the U.S. Mint has produced 2.4 billion Presidential $1 coins. Most are stored by the Federal Reserve, and production was suspended about a year ago.

The latest projection from the Government Accountability Office on the potential savings from switching to dollar coins entirely comes as lawmakers begin exploring new ways for the government to save money by changing the money itself.

The Mint is preparing a report for Congress showing how changes in the metal content of coins could save money.

The last time the government made major metallurgical changes in U.S. coins was nearly 50 years ago when Congress directed the Mint to remove silver from dimes and quarters and to reduce its content in half dollar coins. Now, Congress is looking at new changes in response to rising prices for copper and nickel.

At a House subcommittee hearing Thursday, the focus was on two approaches:

_Moving to less expensive combinations of metals like steel, aluminum and zinc.

_Gradually taking dollar bills out the economy and replacing them with coins.

[ecerpt]

Read more:
Congress looks at doing away with the $1 bill

That's not a lot of savings, but I'll take what I can get.

The penny stays though, unless everyone wants to pay more.

 

[Bill Angel]

The dollar coins are in functional use in Baltimore. When a bus or train rider buys a ticket from a MTA vending machine, any change is dispensed using dollar coins rather than paper money.
But the commercial soda and candy vending machines accept dollar bills but not the dollar coins. :-(

 

[JoeB131]

Been there, tried dat...

... ain't gonna happen...

... bills are cheaper to produce than coins...

...dey tried it with the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin...

... (seen any o' dem lately?)...

... it made people list to one side...

... dependin' which pocket dey carried `em in.

The problem with the Susan B was that it was an ugly coin. And people tended to mistake them for quarters.

Bills are not cheaper to produce because you have to keep producing them. A dollar bill only has a lifespan of about 5 years. A coin can remain in circulation for up to 30.

If they are going to do this, they will have to do what the Canadians did. Stop producing the bills and produce coins only, and slowly take the bills out of circulation.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

Been there, tried dat...

... ain't gonna happen...

... bills are cheaper to produce than coins...

Except they're not, which you would know if you read the article.