Coining a Solution to a Meaningless Problem

Problem: People, in the eyes of the U.S. Mint, do not use the dollar coin enough.

Solution: Make new dollar coins:

New dollar coins featuring all 37 of the nation's dead presidents will begin rolling out of the U.S. Mint in 2007 under a bill Congress is sending to President Bush.

Lawmakers hope the coins - and an accompanying $10 gold piece for collectors featuring former first ladies - will be a big money raiser for the government like the 50-state quarter program. They also hope the dollar pieces will rev up interest in the Sacagawea dollars, which have been little-used.

Nobody is going to use the new dollar coins any more than the old dollar coins. The only solution to getting usage out of dollar coins would be to eliminate the dollar bill, as they eliminated the one-pound note in the UK and the one-Mark not in Germany (pre-Euro) . Until then, the American people will not use a coin that feels like a quarter and serves the same purpose as another bill. I just find it hard to swallow that the Mint will spend more money to get people to use...money.