Unfettered Letters

Almost a penny for your thoughts

I pick up lonely, tire-burnished pennies I see in parking lots, pennies scorned by most adults and children. Talk persists of banishing pennies from commerce. And yet, the absurd nine-tenths of a cent remains on the gas pump. (In the tradition of manipulating customers with nines, it’s never .3 or .6.)

Somewhere there’s a representative on the November ballot who is scratching around for one more novel cause to support, to grab the attention of undecided voters.

Well, I’m suggesting one, and will even toss in a slogan: Deep-six the point-nine!

George Wackerman
Clinton. Mo.

Credit cards make sense

Nadine Cavanaugh (7/31, Letters) was “amazed” at Americans’ dependence on credit cards. I think it’s just good business practice to use credit cards for all my purchases.

At the end of the month, I pay the bill in full and have a printed record of how I spent my money. Also, I have just one bill to pay, saving on checks, postage and envelopes.

In fact, by also using online banking, there is no check charge, and the bank pays for the postage and envelopes.

I physically write only one check, and that’s for my quarterly visit to my hairdresser. And I receive monthly summary reports of every business transaction I made.

Joann Blackburn
Gladstone

What’s our money worth?

Zimbabwe’s dropping of 10 zeros off its currency (7/31, A-13, “Zeros lopped off currency; The country hopes to ease record inflation, officially set at 2.2 million percent”) made we wonder about the worth of our money.

If our national debt continues to increase, how long will it be until the zeros are dropped from our $100 bills? I am too old for it to affect me, but I do feel sorry for our grandchildren.

Kal Makela
Lenexa

America’s credit-card addiction

I was amazed at what happened within the last month at two eating places. First was a fast food place, and the credit card machine was down. A note on the machine said “cash only.” Because I was not using a credit card, I got my food and sat down and observed. It was unbelievable how many people came in with children and then turned and had to leave with crying kids.

Then another day I pulled up to an eating place and noticed no cars out front. On the door was a sign saying “no credit cards today, machine down.” I, paying cash, went in and had lunch. All the time I was there, only two other people came in.

Recently I was telling a young couple that in my back years, there were no credit cards. You either had cash or no merchandise. Their question was “What did you do?” Well, you stayed home and looked around the kitchen and fixed what was there. Peanut butter was always on the shelf.

What would happen if, for one week, all businesses refused credit cards? What would the American people do?

Nadine Cavanaugh
Raymore

Get rid of pennies

Thanks to Joe Williams (3/1, Letters) for reminding us of the uselessness of pennies. So many countries have eliminated pennies because it’s so easy to “round up” or “round down.” The United States is in the Dark Ages. Rep. Jim Kolb of Arizona has twice introduced legislation to stop making 1 cent coins that cost 1.4 cents to make. He has had no success because there are organized opponents.

Mary Lu Parks
Columbia, Mo.

Dollar coins

In regard to the debate on whether to bring back the dollar coins, two of the biggest reasons they didn’t go over earlier was the fact that most vending machines aren’t equipped to handle them and most cash registers don’t have room for them.
The size being close to a quarter is also an issue.
I made a purchase recently and paid the cashier with some coins, including a Susan B. Anthony dollar. The cashier thought that I had shorted her until I pointed out that she had a dollar coin in her hand, along with other coins.
Larry Rotert
Kansas City

Dollar coins

I wonder how all these people who claim they can’t tell a $1 coin from a quarter manage to tell $1 and $10 bills apart.
Any why does it not seem a bit ridiculous and “Third World” to have a coinage based essentially on quarters, dimes and pennies?
Quarters will buy only about a nickel’s worth of anything, and pennies are hardly money at all.
I say get rid of the pennies and the $1 and $5 bills altogether, and replace with half-dollars and $1 and $5 coins.
This will catch us up with the rest of the world, and it will be cheaper and more convenient.
Joe Williams
Kansas City

Dollar coins are fine

Once again, the issue of a new dollar coin brings out the letter saying “you can’t tell them from quarters in your pocket” (2/16, Letters).

I defy you to show me someone who, when paying with change, reaches into their pocket and fishes around for exact change without looking at it. When you pay with change, you pull the change out, and go through it getting the coins you need.

Also, you can’t tell $1 bills from $5 bills in your wallet by feel. The onerous task of actually looking at your money would not seem to be as large a problem as it is represented as being.

I spent 1978 through 1980 at Royal Air Force Lakenheath in England. On base, they didn’t use dollar bills at all, only dollar coins. I would tell you from experience that if you carry a couple in your pocket for a week, you will never mistake them for quarters.

The real problem with dollar coins is just resistance to doing anything a different way.

Given that making dollar coins ends up being much more economical than printing dollar bills, I think it seems perfectly reasonable.

In fact, I would suggest a $5 coin, minted in steel with bluing. That would be a handsome coin.

Bill McHarg
Kansas City