NinjaPirate
Member
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2007
- Messages
- 1,581
How sad is that??? 
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h ttp://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/nation/5611692.html
Here's how to save $100 million, 1.7 cents a time
Chicago Tribune
WASHINGTON — These days, your thoughts are worth 1.7 cents.
That's what it costs the government to forge a penny, thanks to the rising price of metal. A nickel costs 10 cents. Congress has concluded that's a pretty bad deal.
A House subcommittee chaired by Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., convened a hearing Tuesday on a proposal to change the composition of both coins. Republicans and Democrats like the concept, particularly its promise to save taxpayers $100 million a year by using cheaper metals at the U.S. Mint. If the legislation clears the House and Senate and President Bush signs it, you could be plucking steel pennies off the street before year's end.
First, however, there are bureaucracies to navigate and interest groups to appease. There are lobbyists and powerful home-state imperatives. There are questions of constitutionality and whether the penny should exist at all. There is Ron Paul, the Lake Jackson Republican congressman.
And despite Gutierrez's plea for immediate action, it appears there will be months more debate before Congress votes on fixing the penny problem.
The Mint has coined American money since 1792. Until recently, Mint officials say, no American coin had ever cost more to produce than it was worth.
Global metal prices began shooting upward in late 2003, driven by increased demand for raw materials, particularly in India and China. The price of copper quadrupled in the last five years. Nickel more than tripled, and zinc nearly did the same. The Mint lost $99 million on penny and nickel production in the 2007 fiscal year.
Paul called the current proposal an unconstitutional delegation of power. America, he said, has failed to maintain a gold standard or silver standard for its currency. "Now," he said, "we cannot even maintain a zinc standard."
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h ttp://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/nation/5611692.html
Here's how to save $100 million, 1.7 cents a time
Chicago Tribune
WASHINGTON — These days, your thoughts are worth 1.7 cents.
That's what it costs the government to forge a penny, thanks to the rising price of metal. A nickel costs 10 cents. Congress has concluded that's a pretty bad deal.
A House subcommittee chaired by Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., convened a hearing Tuesday on a proposal to change the composition of both coins. Republicans and Democrats like the concept, particularly its promise to save taxpayers $100 million a year by using cheaper metals at the U.S. Mint. If the legislation clears the House and Senate and President Bush signs it, you could be plucking steel pennies off the street before year's end.
First, however, there are bureaucracies to navigate and interest groups to appease. There are lobbyists and powerful home-state imperatives. There are questions of constitutionality and whether the penny should exist at all. There is Ron Paul, the Lake Jackson Republican congressman.
And despite Gutierrez's plea for immediate action, it appears there will be months more debate before Congress votes on fixing the penny problem.
The Mint has coined American money since 1792. Until recently, Mint officials say, no American coin had ever cost more to produce than it was worth.
Global metal prices began shooting upward in late 2003, driven by increased demand for raw materials, particularly in India and China. The price of copper quadrupled in the last five years. Nickel more than tripled, and zinc nearly did the same. The Mint lost $99 million on penny and nickel production in the 2007 fiscal year.
Paul called the current proposal an unconstitutional delegation of power. America, he said, has failed to maintain a gold standard or silver standard for its currency. "Now," he said, "we cannot even maintain a zinc standard."
...Then again, most of the population will probably die from poisoning.
