Should the $1 Bill Go Away?
The measure could save the U.S. government a lot of money, but do you think it’s worth it? We want to hear your thoughts, Tampa Bay!
Can you imagine having to count out coins every time you wanted to break a $5 bill? That could be the future for Americans if a request by the U.S. Mint is granted.
The federal government is currently exploring the possibility of doing away with the $1 bill as a way to save taxpayers money, according to The Huffington Post.
While there would be some upfront costs involved in making the switch, the measure could save as much as $4.4 billion over the next three decades. That savings comes from the fact that coins stand up to the test of time longer than paper bills, the Post reports.
A report is currently being put together for Congress by the Mint. It explores not only a change in $1 currency, but also the metals used in the making of coins.
While other countries like Canada use $1 coins, previous introductions of them in the U.S. haven’t gone over well in the past. Anyone remember the the Sacagawea $1 coin?
More recently, $2.4 billion in Presidential coins have been minted in the last five years. Most of those coins, however, are now stored by the Federal Reserve, the Post article says. Production of these coins was halted in 2011, but these coins can still be ordered by collectors through the U.S. Mint.
People, it seems, just don't like the idea of carrying around more loose change in their pockets.
Whether Congress will go along with the switch or not remains to be seen.
While the issue is being discussed in Washington, D.C., we’re interested in hearing what you have to say Tampa Bay! What do you think about the possibility of the $1 bill going away? Does the idea make sense to you or would you prefer Congress find cost-savings elsewhere? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
RAJ (Bo) McMerritt
7:23 am on Wednesday, December 5, 2012
gotta start somewhere, One is a better start than zero.
Leroy A Haggard
7:58 am on Wednesday, December 5, 2012
That is one way of saying the dollar bill is worth almost nothing.. Nothing but pocket change. Would the government even think of this if our currency had some worth behind it? What would be next to go? The Five dollar bill? Strengthen the dollar
not devalue it.
Jerry Hannon
12:00 pm on Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Ooops. You have confused Economics with Politics.
Whether a nation uses coins or paper for specific levels of value has nothing, whatsoever, to do with the inherent value of its national currency.
Britain went to the Pound coin many years ago, and Canada went to the C$ Dollar coin many years ago, and Hong Kong went to the HK$ coin many years ago, and it had nothing to do with the relative value of their currencies at the time that they did that.
Switzerland has used coins for the 1, 2, and 5 levels of the Swiss Franc for at least three decades (that's as long as I have been going there), and I'm sure there are other industrial nations that are similar.
Coin or paper does NOT "devalue" any nation's currency, so please get that myth out of your mind.
That you may not like our government or the results of the recent election is OK, but just don't confuse economic issues with matters that are wholly unrelated.
Jamie Robe
8:30 am on Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Doesn't matter to me as an individual...as I go months without having any cash on me at all. Get a percentage back on a credit card, so pay with that to squeeze extra money out of virtually every transaction. That said, I think bills are better, as it is easy to misplace coins and the $1 coins have looked like quarters. I read about bills made from plastic type paper, which lasts a lot longer than paper, and harder to fake. I do not think coins can have security devices embedded.
Charles Harbold
8:32 am on Wednesday, December 5, 2012
I would bet that the penny cost more to make then the dollar. But, again it is a smart goverment decision--a lot of thought went into that--da da --Lets reelect them
Lisa Cunningham
9:09 am on Sunday, December 9, 2012
Let's get rid of the penny first. It's useless because it can't work on a bus or in any vending machine in America. Canada got rid of its penny. Once again, Congress wastes so much money studying things that it never implements.
Jamie, I agree. Coins are easy to lose on the street, in your couch, wherever. In fact, I don't even bend down to pick up pennies anymore. They are worthless.
FRED
9:48 am on Wednesday, December 5, 2012
THE DOLLOR COIN DID NOT WORK BEFORE, SO WHY IS NOW ANY DIFFERENT?
Michael D.
10:18 am on Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Being that the majority of American Money is electronic, does this really matter. The only industry this is going to hurt is the adult entertainment industry. A there was a report a couple of years ago that said that 80% of all one dollar bills in circulation had been in a strippers thong. I would think that eliminating some of the coins would do more to reduce costs than the paper money. How much does each penny cost, and how often is it really used?
lee
10:54 am on Wednesday, December 5, 2012
This is such a joke! Who wants all that change in their pocket, not to mention unless they are going to be bright pink or similar, it will be too easy to confuse them with quarters. Just more of a mess. If they want to do anything, get rid of the penny. I think they mate in my pocket when Im not looking.
Bill
12:05 pm on Wednesday, December 5, 2012
We need dollar bills for tips and not just at strip clubs.
Sean Fleeman
12:06 pm on Wednesday, December 5, 2012
I would have no problem with dollar coins, I already throw my singles into a drawer now to save, would make no difference to me if they were in bill form or coin form. That being said, if they are going to do a coin they need to get away from a solid round one. Put a hole in the middle of it, change the shape a little (octagon or something).
pikehunter
4:59 pm on Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Dollar coins? I have a bunch of them. Problem is the soda machines won't take them. However, I would rather use them than paper. Reason? Coins last forever and never lose their core value. It costs 1.5 cents to produce a penny - nickel core and copper cladding.
As to the dollar coin - Susan B Anthony and the gold colored, slightly thicker Sacawajewa are easy to carry and surprises merchants. I give them away to my grandchildren, because the paper bills are often lost or destroyed.
Paper bills cost $16.50 per sheet to print vs coins which are sold to the banks at face value. Give me one and two dollar coins like they have in Canada. It saved them tens of millions over the past 20 years.
Who is WILLIAM BINNEY?
1:25 am on Thursday, December 6, 2012
I would love to see the FEDERAL RESERVE NOTE disappear from circulation.......for sure. Let's return to those 27 grams of Silver instead of the worthless paper commonly referred to as the "dollar."
Sean, if you are seriously saving Federal Reserve notes in your drawers you are going to constantly lose purchasing power. You would be wise to invest in something with inherent value. Ever heard of the Continental Dollar??
Goin' Commando
11:43 am on Thursday, December 6, 2012
Ignorance of economics is no excuse to be ignorant about "value", unless you also believe that the earth is flat, and that each person is a metaphorical island, and that the President was not born in Hawaii.
Goin' Commando
11:48 am on Thursday, December 6, 2012
For SC (and I ain't referring to Scott Calvin), let's go back to exchanging wampum, or maybe tulips, or maybe Bounty Paper Towels.
Every major country on earth uses paper money and coins, and the coins generally have no monetary relationship to metallurgical value.
You really need to get out of your nuclear war bunker and join the real world, or, maybe just stay in the bunker and cut your internet connections.
Allie's Grandpa
11:56 am on Thursday, December 6, 2012
Well, whether or not the US adopts (widely) a $1 coin is irrelevant, except as a matter of convenience, and for the men, the preservation of the bottom of our pockets.
Indeed the question of "paper or plastic" is more meaningful for America than the question of "paper money or metallic money"; the latter doesn't matter at all.
I still have Swiss Franc coins, and Pound coins, and Canadian Dollar coins from my travels, but holding on to them isn't a matter of protecting my economic future but the lousy exchange rate you get from the Exchange Bureaus when you go to sell back your excess local currencies when returning to the States.
Besides, they can always be used on my next trip to each country.
chuck
3:28 pm on Friday, February 8, 2013
Get rid of the penny, nickel, dime(since they are like worthless now; even the hobos ask for a dollar), $1 bill, and $2 bill. Round up or down to the nearest quarter dollar. That will save the gov a lot of money and we don't have to carry those coins(penny, nickel, dime) any more.