Getting the Public to Use Half Dollars and Dollars

Paul Anderson wrote:
In article , Bruce Remick
wrote:


With inflation, there's less and less need to leave the house with
coins in your pocket anymore. Nothing to spend it on. Vending
machines don't take pennies, nickels, or dimes. What good are they
to carry? Accept whatever you get in change, dump it in a jar at
home, ditto the next day.


BINGO!!!

This is exactly why we should eliminate the small-denomination coins,
like the penny, and eliminate the dollar bill! Inflation has made
coins worth so little that it discourages their use. You have proven
the point.

But I still don't understand why you hassle yourself with collecting
large amounts of coins in a jar, having then to "cash them in" at the
bank or (heaven forbid) the Coinstar machine, rather than just spending
them as you receive them.

Paul

Well, I usually don't do that much shopping with cash, so whatever coins
I happen to get in change from a small purchase or two will go into that
jar. No hassle at all. They just don't remain in my pocket long enough
to use again. I never leave home with any, unless I anticipate needing
a couple quarters for something. Even then, it's just as easy to get
change for a dollar whenever I need it. Simply something that happens
to work for my lifestyle. I won't change my routine just to accommodate
certain coin denominations, practical or not. And it's always fun to
unload that jar when it gets heavy, roll up the coins, cash them in, and
go out to eat somewhere. Almost like found money.

Bruce

Mark wrote:

In article , Bruce Remick
wrote:


With inflation, there's less and less need to leave the house with
coins in your pocket anymore. Nothing to spend it on. Vending
machines don't take pennies, nickels, or dimes. What good are they
to carry? Accept whatever you get in change, dump it in a jar at
home, ditto the next day.


All the vending machines near me that I can think of that take quarters,
nickels and dimes.


Then if you use them a lot, and like to use coins instead of bills,
you're all set. There are no rules.

Bruce





--
Researching REMICK worldwide.
http://www.familytreemaker.com/users.../Bruce-Remick/

On Tue, 18 Nov 2003 21:58:54 -0500, Bruce Remick
wrote:

Padraic Brown wrote:

On Tue, 18 Nov 2003 20:14:52 -0500, Bruce Remick
wrote:


At some point it will not be worth it for merchants to still accept cash
for occasional purchases when the majority of exchanges will be made
with your "magic universal ID card".


You're of course assuming this is (or rather will be) a fait acomplis.
There is no reason to presume that this will be the case.


Well, using 60+ years of observation, that's the way I see it happening.
After all, we're over 50% there already and poised ofr 80% in a couple
years. Those who really try could probably make out just fine today
without the need for cash. Over the next couple decades, technology
will make it universal in developed countries.


Of course, I don't have the same time depth. But I wonder if this
isn't more reflective of an increase in general spending, not so much
a shift towards plastic.

In medicine, we're noticing higher disease rates. No one assumes that
this means more people are actually getting diseases. It is reflective
of greater health awareness, more and better diagnosis and more
accurate reporting. Not to mention more actual people.

I think the same will be reflective of spending habits. As technology
becomes more widespread, more people will be able to take part. I
don't think this will have a real impact on cash, though. Unless this
country really does turn into some kind of socialist wonkfest, cash
will not disappear.

Mind you, I'm not entertaining the notion of some kind of "national ID
and credit card". That's a little too orwellian to take too seriously
as a definite.

Padraic.

la cieurgeourea provoer mal trasfu
ast meiyoer ke 'l andrext ben trasfu.

On Tue, 18 Nov 2003 21:53:17 -0500, Bruce Remick
wrote:

Sure. They get jobs, though...


Well, let's hope so! And they better be good ones if they're gonna be
able to afford to carry all those hundred dollar bills to Best Buy for
that washing machine.

Some are, some aren't. Construction, handyman services, plant
management (janitorial services), landscaping, child care,
housekeeping, take your pick!

I still don't see what this has to do with their
preference not to have a credit card or checking account.

Cultural differences. You try placing your money in a bank in a
country that revaluates its currency every couple years. Such a
mindset takes some time to get over.

Note that I'm not saying they nèver have credit cards or checking
accounts.

Padraic.

la cieurgeourea provoer mal trasfu
ast meiyoer ke 'l andrext ben trasfu.

On Wed, 19 Nov 2003 16:17:11 GMT, Paul Anderson
wrote:

In article , Bruce Remick
wrote:

With inflation, there's less and less need to leave the house with
coins in your pocket anymore. Nothing to spend it on. Vending
machines don't take pennies, nickels, or dimes. What good are they
to carry? Accept whatever you get in change, dump it in a jar at
home, ditto the next day.

BINGO!!!

This is exactly why we should eliminate the small-denomination coins,
like the penny, and eliminate the dollar bill! Inflation has made
coins worth so little that it discourages their use. You have proven
the point.

But I still don't understand why you hassle yourself with collecting
large amounts of coins in a jar, having then to "cash them in" at the
bank or (heaven forbid) the Coinstar machine, rather than just spending
them as you receive them.

For the reasons Bruce just mentioned! If you want to buy a typical
McDonald's lunch with typical coins, you can look forward to using
twenty to twenty five quarters; forty to fifty dimes; a hundred
nickels or 500 or 600 pennies. Double that if you're treating.

Back when those coin denominations had some value, you could buy the
same lunch for perhaps a few quarters.

They simply aren't worth carrying around. Even dollar coins are only
marginally worth carrying around - good for tolls, flea markets and
vending machines, sure, but not for larger purchases.

And you're after using pennies and similar to make exact payments,
fine. That's a waste of time and effort for little gain. It's simply
easier to horde them for a while and later deposit at the CU or bank.
Preferably one that has a coin counter!

Padraic.

la cieurgeourea provoer mal trasfu
ast meiyoer ke 'l andrext ben trasfu.

Padraic Brown wrote:

On Tue, 18 Nov 2003 21:53:17 -0500, Bruce Remick
wrote:


Sure. They get jobs, though...


Well, let's hope so! And they better be good ones if they're gonna be
able to afford to carry all those hundred dollar bills to Best Buy for
that washing machine.


Some are, some aren't. Construction, handyman services, plant
management (janitorial services), landscaping, child care,
housekeeping, take your pick!


I still don't see what this has to do with their
preference not to have a credit card or checking account.


Cultural differences. You try placing your money in a bank in a
country that revaluates its currency every couple years. Such a
mindset takes some time to get over.

Note that I'm not saying they nèver have credit cards or checking
accounts.


Well, those immigrants are here now, not in a country with unstable
currency. If they understand that yet still don't choose to adapt to
cultural practices in their new home, that's their perogative.
Hopefully, they won't suffer any financial or worse consequences.

Bruce

Padraic Brown wrote:

On Tue, 18 Nov 2003 21:58:54 -0500, Bruce Remick
wrote:


Padraic Brown wrote:


On Tue, 18 Nov 2003 20:14:52 -0500, Bruce Remick
wrote:



At some point it will not be worth it for merchants to still accept cash
for occasional purchases when the majority of exchanges will be made
with your "magic universal ID card".


You're of course assuming this is (or rather will be) a fait acomplis.
There is no reason to presume that this will be the case.


Well, using 60+ years of observation, that's the way I see it happening.
After all, we're over 50% there already and poised ofr 80% in a couple
years. Those who really try could probably make out just fine today
without the need for cash. Over the next couple decades, technology
will make it universal in developed countries.



Of course, I don't have the same time depth. But I wonder if this
isn't more reflective of an increase in general spending, not so much
a shift towards plastic.

Obviously, more people, more spending. But each decade has brought new
ways to make this spending more convenient, safe, and efficient.
Eliminating the need to carry and use cash seems to be the goal, not
figuring new combinations of coins and bills. Just look at the things
you can use a credit/debit card for today that required cash ten years
ago. When was the last time you bought shares of stock and received a
paper certificate? Paid your phone and electric bill at the corner drug
store? Even received an actual salary check (although this hasn't
disappeared yet, more and more employers aren't paying that way) Some
people like this kind of progress, others will resist. I'm somewhere in
the middle.


In medicine, we're noticing higher disease rates. No one assumes that
this means more people are actually getting diseases. It is reflective
of greater health awareness, more and better diagnosis and more
accurate reporting. Not to mention more actual people.

It also reflects increased worldwide migration, with folks sharing their
local amoebas with those in their new home who are not immune to them.


I think the same will be reflective of spending habits. As technology
becomes more widespread, more people will be able to take part. I
don't think this will have a real impact on cash, though. Unless this
country really does turn into some kind of socialist wonkfest, cash
will not disappear.

Everyone can take part today to the degree their income allows. The
clerk spends the same money as the CEO and has the same resources
available to him. I don't think people will look upon a personal do-all
"buyers card" to be a move toward socialism (as if that is an evil
thing). It will be more of a convenience, eliminating the need to carry
cash or coins. Coins and bills may never disappear altogether, but
will go out of fashion.


Mind you, I'm not entertaining the notion of some kind of "national ID
and credit card". That's a little too orwellian to take too seriously
as a definite.


So you're going to one of the resisters? The "Indoctrinators" will be
paying you a visit. :)

Bruce

On 18 Nov 2003 09:07:13 -0800, (Anka Z) wrote:


I'd rather carry a wad of dollar bills (filthy, bacteria-infested rags
as they are) in my purse than an equal (total) amount of coins.
Believe it or not, those halves and dollar coins are heavy! It's bad
enough carrying a few dollars' worth of quarters. Don't you guys have
a problem with this

Of course. I don't carry around a load of quarters unless I'm carting
them to a handy vending machine. I'm more likely to carry several
dollars in $1 coins. They aren't heavy, contrary to the old canard. I
wouldn't carry a wad of dollar notes either. To bulky and too much of
a mess to sort out. That's what fivers and tenners are for.

Padraic.

la cieurgeourea provoer mal trasfu
ast meiyoer ke 'l andrext ben trasfu.

On Wed, 19 Nov 2003 14:29:12 -0500, Bruce Remick
wrote:

But each decade has brought new
ways to make this spending more convenient, safe, and efficient.

Different certainly. Not much safer and certainly no more efficient!

Eliminating the need to carry and use cash seems to be the goal, not
figuring new combinations of coins and bills.

Whose goal? Certainly not mine!

Just look at the things
you can use a credit/debit card for today that required cash ten years
ago. When was the last time you bought shares of stock and received a
paper certificate?

You can always get a paper certificate.

Paid your phone and electric bill at the corner drug store?

Can be done at the bank, and quite a few shops I've seen.

Even received an actual salary check (although this hasn't
disappeared yet, more and more employers aren't paying that way)

I could change from direct deposit to a regular check if I wanted to.
I chose DD so I wouldn't have to schlep down to the cashier's office
to pick up a check on a day off.

Some
people like this kind of progress, others will resist. I'm somewhere in
the middle.

It's not a matter of "resisting"; and the "progress" is debatable. I
think most of us are in the middle somewhere, myself included.


Padraic.

la cieurgeourea provoer mal trasfu
ast meiyoer ke 'l andrext ben trasfu.

On Wed, 19 Nov 2003 14:07:55 -0500, Bruce Remick
wrote:


Well, those immigrants are here now, not in a country with unstable
currency.

Correct. It will simply take some time for them to adjust. They may
well go bonkers for credit cards; they may never trust the System
enough to bother with one.

If they understand that yet still don't choose to adapt to
cultural practices in their new home, that's their perogative.

Since using cash certainly is one of their new culture's practices,
I'm sure they won't have any trouble adapting to that!


Padraic.

la cieurgeourea provoer mal trasfu
ast meiyoer ke 'l andrext ben trasfu.