Friday, April 23, 2010

New, improved money...

For those who still use cash.



 Megan McArdle left me leaning with this take on the new bill.
On the other hand, we don't use that much currency, so I'm not sure what all the fuss is about.  In theory, currency counterfeiting causes mild inflation.  In practice, the amount of currency that gets used in the United States is too small for counterfeiting to have any realistic impact on prices; these days, money is created not with the printing press, but in the electronic accounts of banks and the Federal Reserve.

But fraud! you will say.  Well, sort of.  If the stuff isn't distinguishable from real money, then who's defrauded?  The people who get the money will be perfectly able to exchange it for real goods and services. [More]

But what I do know is I rarely use cash and now routinely put my change in the collection box or penny tray.  I'm just too likely to lose it or forget where I sent it.
True story:  I dropped my "emergency" hundred from my cash wadded in my pocket whilst paying for some urgently needed vanilla ice cream at our local grocery. A really nice woman found it, called Jan and mailed it to us. Jan sent her some flowers, and it restored some measure of faith in folks for me.

1 comment:

buffalobill said...

About the only place I use money (the real stuff) is in the morning to pay for my senior coffee at McD's. Otherwise I use credit and debit cards. It is much easier than carrying money and getting change. It does take some 'remembering to write it down' talent though. I too once lost a $100 bill, but it just stayed gone, sigh.