Want to help the poor? Start by taking money out of their hands. More specifically, cash — coins and paper bills are the …
currency
Canada’s Penny Is No More – Is the U.S. Penny Next?
In an effort to cut costs, the Canadian government released its 2012 budget Thursday without any money designated to fund the Canadian penny. The penny’s costs have finally grown so high that the government has realized it just …
How the U.S. Could Pressure North Korea Tomorrow: Quit the $100 Bill
U.S. negotiators are heading into a second day of what have been dubbed “serious and substantial” talks with North Korean officials. Yet amid all the discussion of how the U.S. will attempt to work with Kim Jong Un, there has …
Obama Wants to Make Cheaper Pennies and Nickels
It’s one of the more inconvenient truths about U.S. currency: It costs more than a penny to make a penny, and more than a nickel to make a nickel. Now, President Obama is trying to get Congress to grant him permission to lower …
Why (Bill) Size Really Does Matter
In some Big Apple circles there’s a concept referred to as “The New York City Street Tax.” This isn’t anything official. Rather, the idea is that the simple act of walking through the city—walking through any bustling city, …
One Promising Economic Sign: Demand for Coins is Up
The U.S. Mint circulated more quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies last year. And that’s a good thing.
Plastic or Plastic? Canada is Saying Goodbye to Paper Money
Our neighbor to the north is switching to plastic. No, not credit and debit cards. Plastic cash.
Italian Town Prints Its Own Currency to Fight Austerity Measures
If you’re a small-town mayor unhappy with your national government, there’s one thing you can do: declare independence and start issuing currency with your face on it. Just ask the mayor (or should we say, prince?) of …
Jonathan’s Card: The Starbucks ‘Get a Coffee, Give a Coffee’ Social Experiment
The “take a penny, leave a penny” concept works pretty well at diners and convenience stores. But what if, instead of pennies, the currency being shared was digital, and the payments were made by mobile phone? That’s what one …
Where’d All the Cash Go? U.S. Treasury’s Printing Press Slows
Many economists and investors complain that the federal government has effectively been “printing money” through its loose monetary and fiscal policies. But in a strictly literal sense, the very opposite turns out to be true: In …
How Can Americans Get China To Do What They Want? For Starters, Shut Up
As global markets go through another week of selling and anxiousness, a new record was set yesterday: the Chinese yuan – that much maligned, politically charged national currency – hit a record high against the U.S. dollar.
7 Totally Dope, Awesomely Dorky Economics and Personal Finance Rap Videos
Plenty of rappers talk about money. But the lyricists in these videos really rap about money—not pimpin’ or drug deals, but international currency policy, bank bailouts, taxes, tithing, and other aspects of the gangsta economist lifestyle. They also make videos that feature Christians dancing like MC Hammer and the New Kids on the …
