First, they tried coins.: susan b anthony then the Sakajaweya. Both coins bombed. Dollar coins would be too heavy for the average pocket.
Second, the way of the future is “smartcards”.
In Washington DC subway system, you put in a $10 and it zips thru when you get on and off, taking off the amount you spent. These cards are soft cardboard, but theoretically they could be cards, easily bought in stores like we buy long distance cards.
You could also use a “smart chip” in a credit card, but this has a danger of losing your number and privacy issues.
]]>Also, the cash registers won’t have enough space; they’ll either be inefficient (adding costs), or will have to be replaced (adding costs). That could be a significant chunck of change. Finally, all the vending machines that take dollars will have to be retooled.
My friend, Eric, sells vending machines; in the short term, at least, I think he would be severely damaged by the elination of one-dollar bills. Many others who use, stock, sell, or maintain vending machines would be hit as well.
I don’t know what the trade studies looked like, but I doubt the $500 million savings would be passed on to the taxpayers in the first place. Having to bear the burden of all the associated costs could add up quickly. So I suspect it would do more harm than good. However, without having seen the trade studies, that’s just my opinion, and the usual disclaimers apply.
Ciao
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