McCain Bill To Suspend Production Of Cent

That's the brilliant thing about the McCain bill, it doesn't eliminate the cent, it just "suspends" the production for 10 years. A suspension is a whole lot easier to get people to swallow than an elimination. But it will have the same effect because if the bill could pass and the cent was suspended, LONG before the time to restart them rolled around the cent will have disappeared from circulation and everyone will be used to rounding. There would be no reason the end the suspension. The suspension become a defacto elimination.

 

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Too many other riders in the bill.
It also calls for the $1 bill to end, and switch to dollar coins.
That's not happening. $1 bills are 66% of all circulating currency, and while I like dollar coins, the majority of the public find it easier to spend a dollar bill then to carry dollar coins around. I am in favor of eliminating the cent, but I don't see it happening with this bill.

 

If every other civilized country in the world (and some uncivilized ones too) did it i don't see why we can't, too. Actually, I've always thought we should long ago have gone to the 1-2-5 system, starting with a 5 cent coin (with no 1 or 2 cent coins), then 10, 20 and 50 cent coins. Finally eliminating the one and two dollar bills and replacing them with 1 and 2 dollar coins. Pretty much what Canada did; no one died when they did it. Rounding to the nearest 5 cents is no big deal.

 

A suspension of the cent for a while to test whether it would be feasible is a reasonable approach in the face of inflation and the current cost-per-coin.

Other than the dumb riders (which should be eliminated), why not?

Oh, I know: National govt. doesn't exactly get anything constructive done.

 

Honest reason, no one cares. The vast majority of the public just doesn't care.

 

It would be a good time for the IRS to round up........
You new balance due $10,501....Send $11,000......

 

Much of Europe uses that setup too. Switzerland does (except they also have a 5 Fr coin, currently $4.97), the UK does (except they currently use 1p and 2p coins too), and the euro area does (except that only a few countries here have done away with the 1 and 2 cent coins). But I suppose that saying "Canada does it" or "Europe does it" might be counterproductive in the US.

Christian

 

Would be nice but it will never happen.