As regular readers know, I spend considerable time reading up on how our government functions on a practical level, because I can’t believe some of the stuff I find. And what I truly can’t understand is how much of our population, who I assume must be aware of how inefficient, poorly managed and inept most bureaucrats are, just sit there and let these boobs fritter away all those hard-earned bucks collected from taxpayers, yet don’t utter a peep.
What’s more, at the moment, while the administration's demanding tax-hikes on the rich because $16 trillion in debt isn’t enough to pay for what ‘s being spent, I wonder how many of those being bled by D.C. have seen the following article posted on Drudge this AM, titled “End of the Dollar Bill.”
What intrigued me most wasn’t the fact that the government wants to do away with the paper buck, an idea I greatly dislike because I surely don’t want to lug the change around, but the number that jumped off the page regarding the “savings” of employing coins. Because according to the writer Kevin Freking of the Associated Press:
“American consumers have shown about as much appetite for the $1 coin as kids do their spinach. They may not know what's best for them either. Congressional auditors say doing away with dollar bills entirely and replacing them with dollar coins could save taxpayers some $4.4 billion over the next 30 years.”
Now, when I saw the number $4.4 billion saved over thirty years I did a quick calculation that shows the annual cost of printing dollar bills is apparently $146,666,666.70. And what that prompts me to ask is, if the government spends almost $150 million per annum just to print singles, what kind of manufacturing process do they use?
For that kind of expenditure I’d have to guess they produce each dollar by hand utilizing a few thousand artists, or have forty or fifty guys running each press instead of only one like every other private printer in the business. Or perhaps, the pressman get lots of perks such as free health care for themselves and all their relations, a six week paid vacation and a couple of award trips to Vegas, along with a retirement plan that kicks in after three years on the job at two and a half times highest earnings. And naturally, they have to be able to stay in touch with the world, so add a free Blackberry to boot.
As for me, I think this article comes at a perfect time whereas the dreaded fiscal cliff is pending imminently. And if this is what the government does with what it already collects, and now claims to need more from the rich to make ends meet, I hope the tax hikes are enacted. And then, I further pray that those affected don’t actually remit a dime when due, but stand fast as a group and yell “sue me,” while the administration goes flat broke like it ought to.
That’s it for today folks.
Adios
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