Comments on: Time For Change To Change

By: bernie

bernie — Thu, 20 May 2010 18:36:13 +0000

Almost 3 years ago I suggested the very same thing in my article Time to get rid of the Penny, and I am slightly to the right of Ronald Reagan, so I do not understand why Teabaggers would object.

By: Craig

Craig — Mon, 17 May 2010 16:43:05 +0000

What a brave job of setting up a straw man, there. I have no idea how people who enjoy that rather bizarre sexual practice might react to a change in our coins, but people who go to tea parties may or may not object. While saving $100 million a year is a fine idea, it’s buried in the noise of the trillions of utter fraudulent waste that the tea partiers are actually protesting. So it might not even warrant their attention.

By: irlandes

irlandes — Sun, 16 May 2010 21:24:00 +0000

>>stubborn resistance from conservatives who will rally behind the archaic coins in an effort to further obstruct reform in America, and to attack Obama.

Not politically biased much there, I see.

By: Tamfang

Tamfang — Sun, 16 May 2010 20:37:19 +0000

Not square: Reuleaux triangle.

By: Ole Ole Olson

Ole Ole Olson — Sun, 16 May 2010 18:44:55 +0000

As the author, I agree 100%. That is probably the best way to do it.

By: Mike Also

Mike Also — Sun, 16 May 2010 17:29:31 +0000

Of course, the real problem is that inflation made the penny worthless. Back in 1900 a penny would have bought closer to $1.00 worth of today’s stuff.

Changing the metal content of the coins, or eliminating them and moving up to the next highest coin is a band-aid. Eventually we would be having the same conversation about the dime, quarter, half dollar and dollar coins.

If steady growth inflation is the way we intend to do things, then this problem will just reoccur periodically. The real solution is to admit that our money becomes more worthless with time and put a plan in place to eliminate smaller denominations and replace them with larger ones at regular intervals. Or maybe stop spending money we don’t have so the current ones can stick around…

By: Mike

Mike — Sun, 16 May 2010 16:19:28 +0000

At last, an iassue which all the tea people can
rally around: “The Death Of The Penny.”

Could unify them into a pwerful force.

By the way, I have long used drilled foreign coins
as non corrosive washers. Much, much cheaper
than galvanized or stainless.

By: kevin

kevin — Sun, 16 May 2010 14:16:11 +0000

I have always said change the dollar coin into a more square looking coin so the ppl that complain it looks like a quarter, then stop using dollar bills and start producing $2 bills, then ppl could not complain about getting 4 dollar coins

By: Brian

Brian — Sun, 16 May 2010 12:43:37 +0000

This article mentions how pennies and nickels are wasteful, but it does not propose a solution. Here’s a solution: Instead of pricing everything as 1/100 of a dollar, go to 1/10 of a dollar. We would price things with one decimal (like $1.0) instead of two decimals ($1.00). That’s a clean, simple way to do away with the need for pennies. We would get rid of pennies, nickels and (sorry) quarters. People would use dimes and 50-cent pieces (which would probably be redesigned).

By: slain

slain — Sun, 16 May 2010 11:51:28 +0000

Of course the author must have never seen the West Wing TV show, where they made very clear why a President wouldn’t back getting rid of the penny: Abraham Lincoln.