The part about "only a billion dollars" really disturbs me. Those billions add up. Being so cavalier about a billion here and a billion there only lessens the credibility of our government.
Perhaps a Mint Director, seeing the inaction in our Congress over so many years, could just act unilaterally and say "I am not going to mint any cents or nickels this year." Perhaps something they can do on their way out.
The billion dollars not being significant to a cabinet official just illustrates that the federal government takes far far far more money than they should ever be entrusted with. Unfortunately, far far far too many people look at the federal government as a mechanism to take from their neighbors and give to themselves. The irony is that the vast majority of those who think they're getting something for nothing are in reality beholden to politicians.
Quote: I thought Mr. Moy didn't answer the question. He never mentioned anything about higher denominations at all. It will probably never happen anyway.
I agree, he never answered the question posed.
As we have been down the re-imagining the coinage system many times before I won't go back into it but I don't expect any real change other than the possible elimination of a certain low value coin or two...
Interesting and yes, disturbing. "My department wastes that amount of money in the first 4 hours of every day". Yikes.
As a collector I'd be excited to see, for instance, a $2 coin. I returned from a Europe trip a couple of weeks back and the system they have works very well. My only (teensy tiny) complaint with the higher coin denominations is that because I've programmed myself to just dump all my change on the counter at the end of the day, I end up with a pile of coins that actually amounts to something!
As a collector I'd be excited to see, for instance, a $2 coin. I returned from a Europe trip a couple of weeks back and the system they have works very well. My only (teensy tiny) complaint with the higher coin denominations is that because I've programmed myself to just dump all my change on the counter at the end of the day, I end up with a pile of coins that actually amounts to something!
That is the idea. Currently coins have too little purchasing power and it is shrinking all the time. Something will have to happen, and it is likely to be one of two things:
A) Coins fall from use altogether due to low purchasing power;
B) Coins move up the face value chart by eliminating lower value coins and introducing higher value ones.
Quote: Given time you would adapt. All of us would adapt. We would then wonder why all the fuss. Canadians seemed to have figured it out.
I know you keep saying this - but when I visit my Canadian friends - and the ones on this forum when polled - all say they end up with jars of too much change that eventually take to a bank to cash in. WHen I was in Ontario just this past summer, I deliberately started asking the pepople (it was at an insualtor show) and they all said they same thing. They have more change than they know what to do with.
Theory is great - but our members here from Canada and the Canadians I talk to say otherwise.
The poly five is their major spending bill and they end up throwing a bunch of excess change into jars.
Quote: Given time you would adapt. All of us would adapt.
Absolutely. And I'm personally not worried about it in the least. The likelihood of me relocating permanently to one of these countries with 2-unit coins is much higher than us getting a $2 coin here in the States in the next couple of decades. That and 95% or more of my transactions are not cash. I just happened to spend much more cash (vs my normal plastic) in Europe than I am accustomed to doing so in the States.
Quote: The poly five is their major spending bill and they end up throwing a bunch of excess change into jars.
That's my point with Euros and Pounds. But like jbuck said, I'd probably either adapt and learn to spend them in transactions or just do what I'm currently doing with dimes and nickels and take 'em to the bank periodically.
In the US I rarely, if ever, actually spend coins anymore, it all goes home with me, gets searched and the cull is tossed in a jar. Eventually the jar is cashed in, usually at CoinStar for gift cards to feed my iTunes account. For most normal people I suspect a similar situation.
When I am in Canada (like I am once or twice a year) I pretty much do the same, but since they use the dollar and 2 dollar coins I tend to check them in the field and return them to circulation by actually spending them. Since they now do not use cents most of the time I usually end up with fewer coins in my pocket at the end of the day. I would end up with more value of coins due to the dollar and $2 coins if I didn't spend them.
Seems to me that this is what SHOULD happen, coins should be able to purchase something instead of being used only for making change, which is the norm in the US. By introducing larger valued coins and increasing use of dollars and even half dollars by eliminating small value paper currency more use of coins and less in paper would occur. This has already been proven to save money, both to the government and private sector. Unfortunately it doesn't save enough for the government to worry about it. Like the man said in the video, a billion saved is less than the daily waste.
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Posted 08/28/2015 4:27 pm
