tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1769446111726567693.post7749833621532199060..comments2024-03-04T23:34:35.712-05:00Comments on Number 16: The 2012 Canadian loonies and toonies: What a mess for vending machine users!Joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18303862386440522922noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1769446111726567693.post-89793195800237736412020-04-28T16:38:42.683-04:002020-04-28T16:38:42.683-04:00The last thing I want is a cashless society.
As an...The last thing I want is a cashless society.<br />As an American, I actually envy Canada's replacement of the 1-dollar note with a coin. At least Canada doesn't seem to be afraid to admit that its dollar's purchasing power has eroded for decades; I have yet to see this same humility in the USA.<br />https://internationalman.com/articles/whoever-does-not-respect-the-penny-is-not-worthy-of-the-dollar/<br /><br />Not only would replacing a bill with a coin save money, as coins last way longer than bills, but it would also mean that coins could finally be worth something again. Thanks to inflation, what once cost a quarter decades ago would nowadays cost a whole dollar or two today. The introduction of the loonie was a way to keep up with inflation, if not address it.<br /><br />Examples:<br /><br />* Here in the USA, if I insert a $5 bill in a typical vending machine and buy a 20-ounce (591 ml) bottle of soda for two bucks, there's a chance that I'd get twelve quarters ($3) in change (vending machines that support $1 coins are rare). If the American govt. were as competent as the Canadian one in this regard, I'd get three coins in change instead of twelve.<br /><br />* This past year, I was at a laundromat, and the lowest price for a small load cost $4. Would you rather pay that much with 16 quarters, or two toonies?<br /><br />* Those mechanical vending machines that sell cheap stuff like gumballs and capsule toys take only coins. Some of these trinkets sell for a whole dollar, which requires you to put in four quarters. Having a single coin of that same value (the loonie) makes the job easier. The toonie also allows for more expensive objects, such as whole packs of chewing gum, to be sold in these machines with just one single coin; no electricity required.<br /><br />Regarding the switch from nickel to steel, I believe it should only be done if it no longer becomes financially feasible - that is, if the fluctuation in nickel prices really happens and it starts to cost more than their respective face values. If the original nickel formulae could generate profits, especially given the face value of the coins themselves, then there is no reason to switch to steel to begin with.<br /><br />My five cents' worth.josep-nhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08881531821890917614noreply@blogger.com