The problem is that while the metric system is built on more easy conversions for math and science the traditional units were derived by consensus by builders, bakers, etc and tend to be more practical and useful day-to-day.
The people would rather pay the money than use dollar coins. Doing something other than the will of the people may not be despotism but it certainly isn't democracy.
I think you mean indistinguishable. Stores do not want your Canadian currency, the cashier just failed to detect you slipping in a Canadian slug. Banks reject them.
It would hurt everyone who doesn't want to deal with carrying coins. A dollar is still a significant unit of value and we'd be forced to keep coins if there was a dollar coin. I don't know anyone who WANTS to deal with coins.
I'm for this. But the only ones have their wealth adjusted should be those with more than a million dollars worth of cash and assets. Everyone else gets a dollar for dollar exchange for the corrected money.
It'll only be a few weeks before the top 1% got it all back but hey things would be better for a few weeks.
Coins are quite a hassle to deal with. Currently I can generally avoid them. On the rare occasions I have to deal with cash it neatly folds in my wallet. If I get stuck with change I get rid of it. Not because I don't consider less than a dollar to be worthwhile but because it is worth paying up to a dollar to not have anything clanking in my pockets and confusing my fingers that are reaching for keys.
Why force people to deal with coins at all? I think you'll find that most people have a jar or other location where they dump coins they get stuck with as soon as possible. Nobody wants to have to deal with coins except old ladies.
"Or, I can also hand over a note to the cashier which I know how much is there without needing ot visually inspect and have said cashier also inspect."
Doesn't sound like a feature if you want to prevent counterfeiting. You've reduced the barrier for passing a fake bill to replicating a color. Probably even lower since other nations will likely make similar colored bills for you.
The gold standard wasn't the problem. The problem is that people weren't bright enough realize it is easier to divide the dollar to further decimal places than to divide a piece of gold.
Money BACKED by gold and silver doesn't have to be made of gold and silver. You could fix the dollar to the gram for instance. You can never have more dollars in the system than you do grams of gold at that point. This might seem to limit how much currency is usable but there is no particular reason the dollar can't be divided into smaller units than hundredths.
"If the bar is that low, then why are people coming here illegally? Perhaps you are buying into some sort of illusion of how easy it is to get in, because based on the number of people sneaking in, I don't buy it. You do realize that sneaking in isn't easy or safe, right? Why would anyone sneak in if getting in legitimately is really that simple? I call bullshit.... "
In other words your argument is "nu uh."
"You know, I actually would welcome those people. Because to sneak in, you have to deal with possibly dangerous characters, risk injury, imprisonment, or even death sneaking across miles of desert. Anyone who wants freedom that badly is OK in my book."
They don't want freedom. They just want more money. Most of the western US was Mexican territory. The US invaded it under manifest destiny policies and then after beating the Mexicans to death engaged in a PR stunt by offering $15 million to buy the territory they already effectively conquered (which they paid half of). It was a great trick, we now claim we "bought" the western states from Mexico. The result is that Mexicans generally believe this land was stolen from them. Many have family that has lived in this territory since it was part of Mexico. These individuals feel justified in immigrating to these lands because they feel they are theirs. They feel they are entitled to the wealth in these lands. They believe that the US is responsible for Mexico being poor in the first place because of this history, especially due the amount of wealth generated in California.
I'm not saying these feelings are completely unjustified and illegitimate. If the US hadn't essentially taken this territory by aggression it might have had a significant impact on the wealth and power we have relative to Mexico today. But justified or unjustified the bottom line is these immigrants are NOT loyal to the United States. They are desperate people coming to take a piece of wealth they feel they are entitled to. This is why they organize marches with Mexican flags. They believe the US is responsible for the corruption poverty of Mexico and want to restore a true Mexico not join the United States.
People with mod points. Please stop modding people up informative when you can paraphrase their argument as "nuh uh" just because you agree with their politics.
Slashdot Mirror
The problem is that while the metric system is built on more easy conversions for math and science the traditional units were derived by consensus by builders, bakers, etc and tend to be more practical and useful day-to-day.
That's right, take pride in the rapid rate at which you devalue your currency!
The people would rather pay the money than use dollar coins. Doing something other than the will of the people may not be despotism but it certainly isn't democracy.
I think you mean indistinguishable. Stores do not want your Canadian currency, the cashier just failed to detect you slipping in a Canadian slug. Banks reject them.
I love how people are touting a democracy forcing a change the majority of the population is opposed to on them as an example of something done right.
"To encourage people to switch over to Mastercard and Visa?"
This. It is far easier to track people's purchasing this way and further invade their privacy and control their lives.
It would hurt everyone who doesn't want to deal with carrying coins. A dollar is still a significant unit of value and we'd be forced to keep coins if there was a dollar coin. I don't know anyone who WANTS to deal with coins.
You could also just use the machine at the bank that charges no fee and gives you a paper slip to take to the teller.
how do you end up with that much change? There aren't that many places you have to use cash anymore.
I'm for this. But the only ones have their wealth adjusted should be those with more than a million dollars worth of cash and assets. Everyone else gets a dollar for dollar exchange for the corrected money.
It'll only be a few weeks before the top 1% got it all back but hey things would be better for a few weeks.
Not to mention a wife who pulls in 6 figures. My wife costs money.
"We've lost 10-cent bus fare, 10-cent payphone calls and 1-cent candy and managed to do just fine. We can live without small bills too."
You realize that nothing on that list is a good thing?
Coins are quite a hassle to deal with. Currently I can generally avoid them. On the rare occasions I have to deal with cash it neatly folds in my wallet. If I get stuck with change I get rid of it. Not because I don't consider less than a dollar to be worthwhile but because it is worth paying up to a dollar to not have anything clanking in my pockets and confusing my fingers that are reaching for keys.
Why force people to deal with coins at all? I think you'll find that most people have a jar or other location where they dump coins they get stuck with as soon as possible. Nobody wants to have to deal with coins except old ladies.
"Canada initially made a similar error when we introduced the loonie here."
One could argue that the mistake was to force people to use the coin when the people of Canada clearly preferred the bill.
"Or, I can also hand over a note to the cashier which I know how much is there without needing ot visually inspect and have said cashier also inspect."
Doesn't sound like a feature if you want to prevent counterfeiting. You've reduced the barrier for passing a fake bill to replicating a color. Probably even lower since other nations will likely make similar colored bills for you.
Maybe we should work on making it a more reasonable value rather than doing away with it.
The gold standard wasn't the problem. The problem is that people weren't bright enough realize it is easier to divide the dollar to further decimal places than to divide a piece of gold.
Money BACKED by gold and silver doesn't have to be made of gold and silver. You could fix the dollar to the gram for instance. You can never have more dollars in the system than you do grams of gold at that point. This might seem to limit how much currency is usable but there is no particular reason the dollar can't be divided into smaller units than hundredths.
why is there some reason a dollar has to represent a significant amount of gold?
And that is a good thing for strip club visitors how?
"If the bar is that low, then why are people coming here illegally? Perhaps you are buying into some sort of illusion of how easy it is to get in, because based on the number of people sneaking in, I don't buy it. You do realize that sneaking in isn't easy or safe, right? Why would anyone sneak in if getting in legitimately is really that simple? I call bullshit.... "
In other words your argument is "nu uh."
"You know, I actually would welcome those people. Because to sneak in, you have to deal with possibly dangerous characters, risk injury, imprisonment, or even death sneaking across miles of desert. Anyone who wants freedom that badly is OK in my book."
They don't want freedom. They just want more money. Most of the western US was Mexican territory. The US invaded it under manifest destiny policies and then after beating the Mexicans to death engaged in a PR stunt by offering $15 million to buy the territory they already effectively conquered (which they paid half of). It was a great trick, we now claim we "bought" the western states from Mexico. The result is that Mexicans generally believe this land was stolen from them. Many have family that has lived in this territory since it was part of Mexico. These individuals feel justified in immigrating to these lands because they feel they are theirs. They feel they are entitled to the wealth in these lands. They believe that the US is responsible for Mexico being poor in the first place because of this history, especially due the amount of wealth generated in California.
I'm not saying these feelings are completely unjustified and illegitimate. If the US hadn't essentially taken this territory by aggression it might have had a significant impact on the wealth and power we have relative to Mexico today. But justified or unjustified the bottom line is these immigrants are NOT loyal to the United States. They are desperate people coming to take a piece of wealth they feel they are entitled to. This is why they organize marches with Mexican flags. They believe the US is responsible for the corruption poverty of Mexico and want to restore a true Mexico not join the United States.
Yes. There. Are.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_legal_immigrants_does_the_us_take_in_per_year
People with mod points. Please stop modding people up informative when you can paraphrase their argument as "nuh uh" just because you agree with their politics.
LEGAL immigration leads to job growth and economic expansion.
That reinforces my point, rather than detracting from it.
But the presumption is that permanent residency is a stepping stone to citizenship.