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Report: George Zimmerman May Face Hate Crime Charges

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Love-Child of Cassandra and Sisyphus5/15/2012 3:16:13 pm PDT

Well off topic:


Canada penniless as it marks coin’s end

Canada’s last penny was struck Friday at The Royal Canadian Mint’s manufacturing facility and will become a museum piece as the one-cent coins are withdrawn from circulation.

“For over a hundred years, the penny played an important role in Canada’s coinage system,” said Finance Minister Jim Flaherty.
“Although the cost of producing the penny now outweighs its value to Canadian consumers and businesses, it has had a long history that is worthy of recognition.”

The last penny struck for Canadian circulation will be entrusted to the Currency Museum of the Bank of Canada in Ottawa, he said.

Flaherty announced in March the end of the penny, saying it would save the Treasury $11 million per year in manufacturing and distribution costs, as the government looks to trim its budget deficit.

Due to rising labor, metal and other manufacturing and distribution costs, each penny cost more than 1.6 cents to produce.

[…]

If I may draw a lesson here:

The US is “conservative” in more than one way, and this is reflected in our money. Americans really don’t want to do the obvious - get rid of the copper clad penny and the paper one dollar bill - because of sentimentality, or maybe “conservatism”.

Now, it’s true Ron Paul and his friends want to do away with Federal Reserve Notes, but they would rather have gold backed currency and actual US Treasury notes printed rather than the private “Fed”. So they’d be just fine if we had a $1 US Treasury paper dollar backed by a tiny sliver of silver.

Anyway, the US changes slowly when it comes to institutions, and our money reflects that.