Would You Give Up the Dollar Bill?

America is in a constant state of fiscal concerns. With the recession under way, the government is always looking for ways to stick to the budget and spend less money. Seth Fiegerman reports about a study showing that the government could save money just by changing the currency.

"Earlier this month, the U.S. Government Accountability Office issued a formal proposal to the Treasury and Federal Reserve noting that if it eliminated the $1 bill and replaced it with the $1 coin, the country could save roughly $5.5 billion during the next 30 years. The reason, according to the agency's report, is that dollar bills have a shorter lifespan than dollar coins because they wear much faster, which in turn requires the government to spend more to print new bills."

This is of course easier said than done. There would be about a four year transition period in which the government would have to invest in the coins. But after the transition is complete, the government would be saving $522 million dollars per year. Fiegerman also reports that it has been noted that when Americans are given an option between bills and coins, Americans will always choose bills.
At the end of the article Fiegerman points out that this proposal has been brought up many times before and we still use dollar bills today, which shows that this idea is unlikely to pass. It is interesting to ponder though, whether or not you would be willing to give up the dollar bill in a time when the government is trying to cutback spending.