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Message: <blockquote data-quote="kenobi65" data-source="post: 3346404" data-attributes="member: 1515">Makes sense, since Parmalat is an Italian company.They had some serious financial problems a few years ago (financial shenanigans by the founder, I think), and nearly ceased to exist, but they seem to have rebounded.As do I (they're perfect for the parking-payment machine at the train), but we're in the distinct minority.It's estimated that the U.S. would save $500 million a year by switching from paper $1 bills to $1 coins.  A coin costs more to make (20 cents, vs. 4 cents for a bill), but a coin has an average circulation life of 20 years, while a bill has an average circulation life of 18 months.  And, that doesn't count the impact to the economy of reducing the number of bills to be dealt with, especially in the vending-machine industry.  However, every time the idea is floated, too many people scream blue-bloody-murder about the "death" of something as American as a dollar bill, and so it seems like no one in the government is willing to champion the idea.  It's an idea that makes perfect rational sense, but the emotional arguments seem to win out.  (Also, folks point to how Canadians eventually accepted the "loonie", though they had no choice, since it was introduced in conjunction with the phasing-out of their dollar bill.  It seems like few things rankle Americans more than a good idea being forced down our throats.)</blockquote>