"Why can't we just get rid of the paper buck? It might be annoying for a time -- even a year or two. But we will all eventually get used to coins as dollars. That's certainly the case in Canada.

The coin debate is a symbol for American governance right now. Congress can't make hard decisions: It knows that dollar coins will save the country money but does not want to infuriate those who love the paper. Congress says do both. We, the country, can have it all.

The end result is we won't save money and will still infuriate those who champion their favorite monetary unit.

And what's with this business with more former presidents? Don't they already get enough attention?

Here's what I would do: Scrap the paper dollar, keep Susan B. and Sacajawea. Then I would add to the golden coin more names, honoring people who make America, America. I have a long list of nominees: What about coins for Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles or Louis Armstrong? Why not Caesar Chavez, Martin Luther King Jr. or Vine Deloria? Or what about World War II veterans like Fred Korematsu? Or Sojourner Truth, Wilma Mankiller or Eleanor Roosevelt?"

Get the Story:
Mark Trahant: Coin the debate, get rid of paper (The Seattle Post-Intelligencer 12/18)

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