Las Vegas and Golden Dollars

Joe Fischer wrote:

Richard Schumacher wrote:

"Leo M. Cavanaugh III" wrote:
These are just excuses; you treat it the same as any other coin. You have too
many Sacs, trade it in for $5's, $10's, or whatever. When you need change,
you break your large bill down into Sacs. It's like a super-quarter, no more,
no less.

Agreed. I've found GDs more convenient than bills, and it's nice having a thin
wallet rather than one stuffed with singles.

It sounds good in theory, but if the dollar coin does not
circulate a vending operation is hard pressed to either have
serviceable and filled bill changers giving dollar coins as
change, or not have any machines that require dollar coins.


I wonder what size city you live in? In Dallas most of the vending machines I've
tried take GDs, as do the commuter rail ticket machines and the self-serve checkouts.



They still harp that a person needs a million dollars
invested to retire on, yet the average person retiring
has less than $20,000 besides any equity in a house (if he
owns one).

Ooh, now there's potential for subject drift... A person *does* need a million
dollars to retire, if they plan to live indefinitely, without working, as well as
they live now. The fact that most people aren't going to have a million dollars when
they need it is an oncoming train wreck in our social order.

On Mon, Richard Schumacher wrote:

Joe Fischer wrote:
Richard Schumacher wrote:
Agreed. I've found GDs more convenient than bills, and it's nice having a thin
wallet rather than one stuffed with singles.

It sounds good in theory, but if the dollar coin does not
circulate a vending operation is hard pressed to either have
serviceable and filled bill changers giving dollar coins as
change, or not have any machines that require dollar coins.

I wonder what size city you live in?

I live in a town of about 1000, but do all my shopping in
a metro area of nearly a million.

In Dallas most of the vending machines I've
tried take GDs, as do the commuter rail ticket machines and the self-serve checkouts.

That would be great if it were easy to get SACs, in fact
it would be great if there were change machines that dispense
any denomination of coin to make using vending machines easier.

But the fact is, the few change machines that exist are
in places where there are people to watch them, else they would
be destroyed by thieves.

There is no commuter rail system here, and building one
would be foolish, very few people would ride.
But coins should work for buses and trackless also, the
difference being that there are no "stations" to make change,
sell coupons or place vending machines.

They still harp that a person needs a million dollars
invested to retire on, yet the average person retiring
has less than $20,000 besides any equity in a house (if he
owns one).

Ooh, now there's potential for subject drift... A person *does* need a million
dollars to retire, if they plan to live indefinitely, without working, as well as
they live now. The fact that most people aren't going to have a million dollars when
they need it is an oncoming train wreck in our social order.

Are you really gullible enough to believe that? Do the
news reporters and especially economists really believe that even
half the people could retire on a million dollars and live off the
interest?

Retirement depends on those working or in business to
pay the interest on the money everybody wants to retire on, so,
only a certain percentage could ever retire and "live as well as
they live now".

Having money is never a substitute for earning money,
especially now with interest rates at the low point of modern
times.

I think it is bizarre that the proponents of stopping
production of dollar bills stoop to using the argument that
the treasury would not have to pay as much interest on the
public debt borrowing.

My only desire in the matter is to be able to continue
to carry dollar bills in my shirt pocket, I have been doing it
a long time.
I spend dollar coins all the time, but never have gotten
one in change.

Money plays a huge role in what happens in everyday
life, and the present situation is a result of many years of a
liberal controlled congress, a retirement system that was not
thought out well, business overhead that makes it easier to
just buy everything from Asia instead of producing it, and
an earned income credit to anybody over 25 and under 65.

A person that has a modest home paid for can live on
about $700 a month, which is about what the average person
retiring today gets from Social Security.

Two weeks ago I began to do all cash transactions
with denominations no larger than one dollar, regardless
of whether it is coin or rag dollar, and it has become an
education already.
A dollar is a lot of money, and I need a way to see
just how much money I have been spending foolishly.
But I am willing to pay my share of whatever it costs
to continue dollar bill production, so I can carry a big wad
of rag dollars in my shirt pocket.
And that doesn't mean I don't appreciate just how
important it is to have dollar coins in the places that need them.

Joe Fischer

I wrote:

I don't think it's lazy to wish the designers would
remember that money is used by people with less than perfect
eyesight in places with less than good light. It is so easy
to design things that are distinct that I think it is
designers (more likely their bosses) who are being lazy.

greg byshenk replied:

I may be completely wrong about this, but I don't think "being lazy"
has anything to do with it. Rather, it is about avoiding stupid
complaints.

The problem is that a change such as you describe would require a
major redesign of US banknotes. Unfortunately, when any such thing
is proposed (or even minor changes), congress tends to be inundated
with ranting complaints about how is it all part of a plot by the UN,
or the New World Order, or the TriLateral Commision, or ZOG, or ...
and that it must be stopped.

I think that "their bosses" (the politicians) have simply decided
that it isn't worth the fight.

I think you are right. Yes, what I think would be good is
"a major redesign of US banknotes." Given the amount of
complaints on even minor changes or improvements, I don't
expect to ever see what I would consider user friendly money.



Bob valen (at) trust-me (dot) com

On Thu, 29 Jan 2004 18:53:33 -0800, "Bob Flaminio"
wrote:

Fred Shecter wrote:
I didn't even know that BART used dollar coins. Perhaps they are
finally upgrading.

If so, it'd be news to me. I've never successfully used a dollar coin in
any BART ticket or parking machine.

Muni had to install special machines to change dollar coins into
quarters because their fare gates did no accept them.

I don't know about fare boxes on vehicles, though.



==========================

Dave by the Beach
Southern California

dvs519 wrote in
:

Muni had to install special machines to change dollar coins into
quarters because their fare gates did no accept them.

Too bad as it would of been better to get their fare gates to simply accept
dollar coins.


Barney