Press Release: Citizens Against Government Waste Recognizes Dollar Coin as a “Prime Cut”
Annual Waste-Cutting Report Highlights Billions in Savings from Dollar Coin Transition
Washington, DC (June 9, 2011) In the newly released 2011 edition of its Prime Cuts database, non-partisan budget watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) recommended replacing the $1 bill with a $1 coin, which would save the government $184 million in one year and an estimated $5.5 billion over 30 years. This year’s Prime Cuts database highlights 691 waste-cutting recommendations that would save taxpayers $391.9 billion in the first year and $1.8 trillion over five years. The full database is available here.
“Citizens Against Government Waste have long advocated making government more efficient and less wasteful,” said Shawn Smeallie of the Dollar Coin Alliance. “We are thrilled with the new report and its recommendation to replace the dollar bill with the dollar coin, which offers significant savings without cutting a single program or raising a single tax.”
According to the CAGW, “Large-scale private-sector users would experience even more savings. Processing bills costs them more than 500 percent above processing coins. Coins are also much more difficult to counterfeit.” In addition, the CAGW noted that while each $1 bill has a lifespan of approximately 21 months, the $1 coin has a lifespan of 30 years or more.
The CAGW recommendation recognizes a recent report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimating billions in government savings through a transition to the dollar coin. The GAO report, “Replacing the $1 Note with a $1 Coin Would Provide a Financial Benefit to the Government,” strongly recommends the replacement of the dollar bill with a dollar coin and estimates $5.5 billion in government savings over a 30-year period. Depending on certain assumptions in their analysis, this savings could be as high as $11.1 billion.
The Dollar Coin Alliance is a coalition of American small businesses, budget watchdogs, trade associations and private companies with a singular focus of moving the United States toward an economical, environmentally friendly dollar coin.
For more information, or to get involved, please visit www.DollarCoinAlliance.org
Dollar Coin Alliance Mission Statement
The Dollar Coin Alliance is dedicated to saving American taxpayers billions of dollars by transitioning to a one dollar coin. We are focused on educating taxpayers and policy-makers about the benefits of increasing dollar coin circulation. We believe the dollar coin will yield cost savings to American businesses and consumers, smaller environmental impact, assistance to the visually impaired and improved national commerce.
