Eliminate the Dollar Bill

So It's my feeling that they should get rid of the $1 bill. And while they are at it they should get rid of the penny.

All this started with a conversation I had with Jenny and Sergio over the Sacagawea $1 coin. I think they should eliminate the dollar bill and move to strictly the Sacagawea or its equivalent. Why? According to the Federal Reserve a $1 bill last only 18months. This compared to a coin which can last in excess of over 25 years. Further I'm sick of my dollars not working in vending machines. As far as I know, a coin is never not straight enough to be accepted in a vending machine.

I think the ultimate reason that we should switch though is because Jenny has pledged to leave the country if we switch because her pockets would be so heavily weighed down. Is she serious? I mean, do you see the British with big, full, heavy pockets. Their bills don't even start until you get to 5 pound notes (About $8 U.S.). Canadian currency also does not start until their $5 denomination. You don't see Canadians with lugging around bags of coins hey?

As for the penny? Its a complete waste of materials and money. You can't buy anything anymore for less than a nickel so why should you mint a penny. Over 14 billion pennies are minted every year. This is over 1/2 the coins produced every year. That's over 30,000 metric tons of material. How much does it cost to produce this pile of waste, over $100 million. And for what? So people can collect truckloads of pennies? So we can all throw pennies into a well and make a wish? I've made plenty of wishes in my day, not too many of which have come true. I guess with the rate of inflation, even a wish cost more than a penny these days.

We live in such a static culture sometimes. People hold on to things like their dollar bills, the penny, old High school buildings, and refuse to enter the new world (like the Metric system, but don't even get me started on that).