Paper or plastic?

"Jeff R." wrote in message
...

"stonej" wrote in message
oups.com...
Would you like paper or plastic in your wallet?
http://slate.msn.com/id/2111749/


LOL! to *most* of the s-h-u-d-d-e-r-i-n-g responses to this proposition.

(Posting from Sydney, to set the scene.)

Embrace the future, folks, or be left with your butts in the gutter.

How many of you:
* use a horse-driven conveyance as your principal vehicle?
* prefer a crystal set to a PLL radio receiver?
(for daily use)
* use a typewriter rather than a WP?
(subset to that)
- use WordStar v4 (a *killer* app) rather than a current GUI WP?
- (insert any number of *good* software upgrades)
* eschew quartz crystal accuracy in favour of pendulums and/or
invar-built
jewel-mounted super-delicate and relatively inaccurate clock/watch
mechanisms?
* pay your bills with silver dollars or gold liberties?
and so on, ad barfinitum.

Yes, I like horses. I used to have fun building xtal sets (and lots of
bigger, better ham gear), I still own a typewriter, my main household
clock
is a weight-driven, pendulum-regulated beast -BUT- I set it from the PC. I
pay
my bills online. I drive a fuel-injected computer-regulated motorcar.

Get a grip, folks. Try to remove yourselves from the pejorative
associations
with the word "plastic". What would your motorcar look like sans plastic?
Your PC? (Or do you post telepathically?)


My motorcar would look much better (to me) if all the current plastic was
replaced with the chrome, painted metal, and real wood that "real cars" were
made of in the 1950's and before. 5mph parking lot accidents wouldn't cost
$500-1,000 to repair and I would have a use for my sad, old, half-full can
of chromium polish. Nothing more prideful than a shiny bumper.

My 2004 PC still has a metal case. It would probably look essentially the
same regardless of what the case, monitor, printer, etc. was made of. If
the PC had been popularized in the 1950's, it probably would have had a
metal or bakelite case like most radios of that time.

I'd like to handle a few "plastic" bills before making a comparative
judgement between paper and plastic. I suppose they have their user
advantages and probably would be accepted here in the US after the
inevitable period of special interest bluster.

Bruce

"Bruce Remick" wrote in message
news:GP0Dd.17578$sf5.2795@lakeread05...



"Jeff R." wrote in message
...

"stonej" wrote in message
oups.com...
Would you like paper or plastic in your wallet?
http://slate.msn.com/id/2111749/


snip my lame analogies


My motorcar would look much better (to me) if all the current plastic was
replaced with the chrome, painted metal, and real wood that "real cars" were
made of in the 1950's and before. 5mph parking lot accidents wouldn't cost
$500-1,000 to repair and I would have a use for my sad, old, half-full can
of chromium polish. Nothing more prideful than a shiny bumper.

Headlining? Wire insulation?
You can afford leather trim? Or want to care for fabric?

My 2004 PC still has a metal case. It would probably look essentially the
same regardless of what the case, monitor, printer, etc. was made of. If
the PC had been popularized in the 1950's, it probably would have had a
metal or bakelite case like most radios of that time.

And bakelite is...

Yes, but your PC is not a typewriter.
I see no point in rejecting plastic money - preferring rag instead - just for
the sake of the status quo - and one's inherent resistance to change.

Hell -I'm as conservative as the next old fart - but I use and embrace
appropriate technology (PCs, cars, plastic money)


I'd like to handle a few "plastic" bills before making a comparative
judgement between paper and plastic. I suppose they have their user
advantages and probably would be accepted here in the US after the
inevitable period of special interest bluster.

Bruce

My point, Bruce, is that they're no big deal.
They feel fine and work just great.
They just *don't matter*.
Do Americans worship rag greenbacks? (Silly question...)

Nostalgia ain't what it used to be.

--
Jeff R.
(still can't believe how resistant to change youse Yanks are)

"Jeff R." wrote in message
...

"Bruce Remick" wrote in message
news:GP0Dd.17578$sf5.2795@lakeread05...



"Jeff R." wrote in message
...

"stonej" wrote in message
oups.com...
Would you like paper or plastic in your wallet?
http://slate.msn.com/id/2111749/


snip my lame analogies


My motorcar would look much better (to me) if all the current plastic
was
replaced with the chrome, painted metal, and real wood that "real cars"
were
made of in the 1950's and before. 5mph parking lot accidents wouldn't
cost
$500-1,000 to repair and I would have a use for my sad, old, half-full
can
of chromium polish. Nothing more prideful than a shiny bumper.

Headlining? Wire insulation?
You can afford leather trim? Or want to care for fabric?

The headliner on my cars is still fabric. Leather and fabric breathe better
and feel more comfortable to sit on in the summer than some of the cheaper
sweaty plastic upholstery. And you have to care for any kind of upholstery,
regardless of the material. But I'm mainly thinking of body panels and the
like. The plastic bumpers on my car cost much more to replace than the
equivalent chrome bumpers would have in years past. Plus, while it can be
argued that they offer a cushioning effect to protect the occupant in a
severe crash, they also allow more things to be damaged in a more common
minor low speed accident. $$$


My 2004 PC still has a metal case. It would probably look essentially
the
same regardless of what the case, monitor, printer, etc. was made of.
If
the PC had been popularized in the 1950's, it probably would have had a
metal or bakelite case like most radios of that time.

And bakelite is...

An early form of plastic.


Yes, but your PC is not a typewriter.
I see no point in rejecting plastic money - preferring rag instead - just
for
the sake of the status quo - and one's inherent resistance to change.

Don't get me wrong. I don't reject plastic money. Unless maybe they start
making coins out of it. Even then, I would have to spend them if that's all
we had.


Hell -I'm as conservative as the next old fart - but I use and embrace
appropriate technology (PCs, cars, plastic money)


I'd like to handle a few "plastic" bills before making a comparative
judgement between paper and plastic. I suppose they have their user
advantages and probably would be accepted here in the US after the
inevitable period of special interest bluster.

Bruce

My point, Bruce, is that they're no big deal.
They feel fine and work just great.
They just *don't matter*.
Do Americans worship rag greenbacks? (Silly question...)

Nostalgia ain't what it used to be.

I agree 100% that they're no big deal. Many of us who live where we have no
large denomination coins, our bills are paper, are all the same size, and
all look pretty much alike, will always look for ways why a change wouldn't
work here. Makes for fun discussions at the keyboard or over a few pints.
I would say that most Americans have simply become "numb" to the same
greenbacks we have used for 75 years and would probably accept (or quietly
reject) whatever the government produces for use in commerce without an
outcry. Very few of us wring our hands over whether to use the dollar coin
or dollar bill. We usually use whatever comes our way on a daily basis.
Since plastic bills don't seem to have been rejected Down Under, I doubt
they would be here either.

Bruce

"Bruce Remick" wrote in message
news:j4bDd.19477$sf5.13655@lakeread05...

I would say that most Americans have simply become "numb" to the same
greenbacks we have used for 75 years and would probably accept (or quietly
reject) whatever the government produces for use in commerce without an
outcry. Very few of us wring our hands over whether to use the dollar coin
or dollar bill. We usually use whatever comes our way on a daily basis.
Since plastic bills don't seem to have been rejected Down Under, I doubt
they would be here either.

Bruce


All noted, Bruce, but *Wow*! - that's not the impression I get from this NG -
but I guess we're not a representative sample, in terms of opinions on coinage
etc.

--
Jeff R.

--
Researching REMICK worldwide.
http://www.familytreemaker.com/users.../Bruce-Remick/
"Jeff R." wrote in message
...

"Bruce Remick" wrote in message
news:j4bDd.19477$sf5.13655@lakeread05...

I would say that most Americans have simply become "numb" to the same
greenbacks we have used for 75 years and would probably accept (or
quietly
reject) whatever the government produces for use in commerce without an
outcry. Very few of us wring our hands over whether to use the dollar
coin
or dollar bill. We usually use whatever comes our way on a daily basis.
Since plastic bills don't seem to have been rejected Down Under, I doubt
they would be here either.

Bruce


All noted, Bruce, but *Wow*! - that's not the impression I get from this
NG -
but I guess we're not a representative sample, in terms of opinions on
coinage
etc.

--

Since most of my friends and associates are not coin collectors, I often
solicit their unbiased views on various topics brought up in rcc.
Universally, they pretty much don't care what our coins and currency look
like. They look upon our current paper bill "upgrade" program as a
temporary curiousity and then they forget about it. Most wouldn't have
given it much thought at all if the press hadn't called attention to it.
Most don't really care about dollar coins, either. The few that do find
them useful in their activities know where they can get them. If pinned
down, most would agree that the cent is pretty much useless, but it's not
anything they otherwise think about.

I doubt our government could sneak plastic bills into circulation without
extensive media fanfare. This of course would bring out the inevitable
naysayers who never had an opinion one way or another before the change
became reality. Then like you said, the controversy would gradually
disappear and we would simply go about our business with plastic money,
quickly adapting to any difference in feel or appearance. In general, I
think most Americans are too preoccupied with their busy lifestyles today to
concern themselves with the types of money we produce.

Bruce