Not gonna lie, I agree with this. Pennies are useless.

  • Steve@communick.news
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    edit-2
    1 day ago

    There’s just too much stuff that runs on quarters […] too much cultural staying power.

    “Because that’s the way it is” is never a good reason not to do something new.
    It’s always the case that things don’t change. Until they suddenly and unexpectedly do. Then in hind sight it seems obvious they should have changed long earlier.

    US dollar circulates widely in foreign countries […] There, US coinage is basically non-existent

    There’s no real reason coins couldn’t circulate in foreign markets. They don’t because the value to weight ratio is worse for shipping. But if the coin value went up to a dollar, and the dollar note wasn’t an option anymore, foreign markets would adapt just fine. Especially since the coins would circulate for decades longer.

    • NateNate60@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      edit-2
      13 hours ago

      “Because that’s the way it is” is very often a good reason not to do something new. That’s because of the human aspect of introducing these reforms. There’d better be a very good reason to change or you will encounter a lot of public opposition just because people don’t like change.

      There is no reason that coins don’t can’t circulate in foreign markets but the fact remains that they don’t (Edit: for lack of infrastructure to support the logistical challenges of distributing coins). You cannot explain that away. It is simply not possible to adapt in the situations I describe. Saying that “they’ll adapt” is a very hand-wavey excuse that doesn’t address the issues with retiring this denomination. Without a $1 note, people in the countries that need it will just not use the US dollar and will choose a currency that has the denominations they need. In Zimbabwe’s case, people would be forced off the US dollar and onto a currency that is willing to provide them with the small change that they need. In that case, probably the South African rand.

      • Steve@communick.news
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        edit-2
        17 hours ago

        Everything is the way it is. Yet things still change. Literally everything changes eventually. So no, it’s not a good reason, merely an empty excuse. “The human aspect”, is a less insulting sounding way of saying “People don’t like change.” Which is true, but as I already said, every thing changes anyway and people deal with it and adapt every time.

        There is no reason that coins don’t circulate in foreign markets but the fact remains that they don’t.

        That sentence is literal nonsense. As in, it doesn’t make sense.
        If there’s no reason coins don’t circulate, then they would be circulating; Or could be made to circulate, with no real resistance or effort.

        Then you go on to further not explain why the dollar note is necessary in some markets, and they wouldn’t be able to adapt.
        That’s a very hand-wavey way to create a roadblock excuse.

        • NateNate60@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          16 hours ago

          These things don’t need to make sense. They very much don’t make sense. They are still real phenomena that need to be dealt with. You’re expressing a sentiment that I find is very common on Lemmy—that if it doesn’t make sense then it can be ignored.

          If public sentiment is against a change that is perceived to be arbitrary and without benefit then you will encounter very real public opposition. There will be political repercussions to making this change. You will be slandered by pundits in the news and you personally will gain a reputation as a hard-ass who makes things hard for no reason (regardless of whether that’s true or justified), which causes problems for your future job security as now politicians think they can score easy political points by firing you. It wouldn’t be a consideration on Planet Vulkan, but on Earth, this effect is real and must be considered, whether you think it’s logical or not.

          Coins don’t circulate in foreign exchange markets. They haven’t circulated for over a century. There are, however, reasons for this. You’ve already correctly pointed out that one of them is because coins are heavier. The second reason is because ATMs don’t dispense coins but they do dispense notes. When people go to the bank and withdraw money, they don’t receive coins unless specially requested. And despite the need for small change in these foreign countries, the logistical challenges of providing coins to them over notes are still too high for coins to find their way into circulation. Coins enter circulation in the US when businesses order them from the bank, which in turn orders them from the Federal Reserve, which receives them from the Mint. Banks abroad don’t bother with coins because they’re far more difficult to transport and distribute than notes, making it an unprofitable service to offer account holders, and they can’t just order them from the Federal Reserve—they need to go through a third party which increases costs. In addition to that, USD banknote-counting machines are prevalent worldwide. It’s rare to encounter a USD coin-counting machine abroad. The logistical network to distribute USD cash globally is built for notes, not coins, and that’s why trying to introduce coins in a foreign market is like trying to jam a square peg into a round hole. You’re going to find that every single step is going to be ever so slightly more frustrating than distributing notes, which all adds up to the point of impracticality.

          • Steve@communick.news
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            edit-2
            14 hours ago

            You just eloquently explained some reasons. Why did you say there’s no reason coins aren’t circulated in foreign markets? That was your statement that made no sense. Not because people’s emotional decisions don’t make sense, but because the literal meaning of the sentance you used didn’t make sense.

            And yes those things are solvable problems. Thinking they’re barriers is just a symptom of the pervasive hopeless perspective that’s popular right now.

            Breaking that perspective is the only hope I have for this presidency. I hope he changes so much in such terrible ways, that people will realize major pervasive change is possible. And after so much gets fucked up, it’ll be an imperative to over correct the damage he’ll do, improving things to better than they were before.

            • NateNate60@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              3
              ·
              13 hours ago

              I will edit my original comment. There is no reason that they couldn’t circulate in foreign exchange markets given the correct infrastructure. That infrastructure current doesn’t exist and to my knowledge would be unprofitable to construct.