
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 30, 1990                   TAG: 9005300406
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

NEW MONEY?

SOME MEMBERS of Congress hope they've found a new way to separate citizens from their money. Well, certain kinds of money, anyway.

With the backing of the vending machine industry and brass and copper interests, they're sponsoring legislation that would eliminate the penny and dollar bill while creating a $1 Christopher Columbus coin. The new system would be more efficient, they say.

Sure enough, the General Accounting Office estimates that the change might save the government $318 million a year in currency production costs. Retail and financial institutions that process lots of coins might save money, too.

But would the savings really be that great? The GAO figure depends on public acceptance of the new coin. A recent Gallup Poll shows that almost two-thirds of those surveyed don't like it.

Granted, there is little practical use for pennies. They clutter up dresser tops and weigh down pockets and purses. Still, they are a part of life and a legitimate measure of worth. And the dollar bill is such a basic unit of currency that it's sheer folly to suggest replacing it with another weighty chunk of pocket ballast.

The main beneficiaries of this proposed efficiency, we suspect, are merchants who would round off prices to the next five cents. That may be efficient, but isn't desirable. Counting out the exact number of cents in any transaction brings business to a precise conclusion.

The current currency proposal is probably not a matter of much consequence. Everyone involved agrees that the legislation will fail unless the Bush administration strongly endorses it and then firmly supports it in the face of growing public disapproval. There seems little danger of that happening.

For the time being, most people will probably continue to deal with the currency problem the way they always have. At the end of the day, they'll count their dollars carefully, and when the jar on the dresser overflows with pennies, they'll get a bigger jar.

by CNB