[The Final Dakar]

Harriet Tubman to Replace Andrew Jackson on the Face of the $20 Bill - ABC News
Gotta problem with dis?

[subego]

I preferred "sent to the back of the bill".

[The Final Dakar]

Yes, its more apropos. Its also disappointing he didn't get banished altogether.

[reader50]

Used to be, our coins did not feature real people. We were leery of venerating kings and queens, so the coins featured Lady Liberty or composite busts. The indian-head for example, is a composite of several real tribe leaders.

Printed bills mostly had real people, but coins were the common currency used until we dropped gold/silver coins. After all, coins scaled up to $1,000+ (double gold eagles) in today's dollars.

I don't think Jackson was a good president, so goodbye. But I think they should replace with non-real people again. Packing our bills with ladies front and back just seems ineffectual.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by reader50 

Used to be, our coins did not feature real people. We were leery of venerating kings and queens, so the coins featured Lady Liberty or composite busts. The indian-head for example, is a composite of several real tribe leaders.

Printed bills mostly had real people, but coins were the common currency used until we dropped gold/silver coins. After all, coins scaled up to $1,000+ (double gold eagles) in today's dollars.

I don't think Jackson was a good president, so goodbye. But I think they should replace with non-real people again. Packing our bills with ladies front and back just seems ineffectual.

Yeah, we also used to not reference god on our currency, too. /shakesfistatcloud

[andi*pandi]

If we're going with people, I was in favor of them being elected officials. I'd have preferred the first female senator or the first black legislator, if they were insistent upon a black person. Not that Harriet wasn't awesome, but a symbol of government she is not.

[OAW]

I don't have a problem with it. I think it's appropriate to have seminal figures in US history on our currency. I also think it's appropriate to put on new people as times change.

OAW

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by andi*pandi 

If we're going with people, I was in favor of them being elected officials. I'd have preferred the first female senator or the first black legislator, if they were insistent upon a black person. Not that Harriet wasn't awesome, but a symbol of government she is not.

I think that would be ideal, but thanks to the limits of freedom in country that would have reduced the pool of people to the last 100 years. I think their goal here was to select someone both recognizable and with a strong 'resumé". I think Tubman fits the bill here.

[The Final Dakar]

The fun side effect of this announcement is its catnip for conservative contrarians to go on record as against it for either stupid reasons or with stupid alternatives.

[P]

Originally Posted by andi*pandi 

If we're going with people, I was in favor of them being elected officials. I'd have preferred the first female senator or the first black legislator, if they were insistent upon a black person. Not that Harriet wasn't awesome, but a symbol of government she is not.

Seems to be a modern thing. We have moved to put a bunch of "cultural personalities" on all bills instead of old kings (the current king still graces the coins), but then nobody uses cash anymore, so whatevs.

[Cap'n Tightpants]

People other than strippers and drug dealers still use cash? It's a waste of resources to keep printing and minting the stuff.

[subego]

I keep dollar coins for tipping at Starbucks.

[Cap'n Tightpants]

What do they do at Starbucks that deserves a tip?

[subego]

Make me an overpriced drink.

[andi*pandi]

Someone paid me back in cash this week. Spending paper money is oddly satisfying.

Also, 5¢ off at the gas pump if you pay cash.

[OAW]

Originally Posted by Cap'n Tightpants 

People other than strippers and drug dealers still use cash? It's a waste of resources to keep printing and minting the stuff.

We'll just chalk this up to either your profound ignorance or general assholishness. But millions of hardworking people use cash exclusively.

Nationally, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), 7.7 percent of U.S. households are unbanked and 20 percent are underbanked. Another 5.3 percent are unknown. Not having enough money to open an account is an understandable and widely cited reason to not do business with banks. Use of banks rises along with income—though 5 percent of households making $30,000-$50,000 are still unbanked and 13 percent of those making over $75,000 remain underbanked. Maybe that’s because 34.2 of respondents to an FDIC survey say they don’t like or trust banks, and another 30.8 percent find bank fees too hefty or unpredictable to tolerate. Twenty-six percent cite privacy as a reason for keeping clear of banks – bankers say that increased federal reporting and documentation requirements drive many customers away.

“A lot of people are afraid of Uncle Sam,” Greg Levenson, president and CEO of Southwest Capital Bank, told the Albuquerque Journal.

So, many people operating outside the traditional financial system avoid the institutions by choice. They’d rather deal in cash, and use prepaid cards when plastic is an absolute must.

Millions of Americans Who Avoid Banks Offer a Peek at the Underground Economy - Reason.com

The FDIC noted that in Kansas City, for example, 45 percent of the black population is unbanked, compared with 3.8 percent of white households. Data on Hispanic households were not available for 2013, although 35.4 percent of that population was unbanked in 2011.

Kansas City’s unbanked population has grown by 4 percent since 2009. But just four hours east in St. Louis, the unbanked population has fallen 3 percent in the same time span.

So where does the money go?

Mario Urquilla, vice president of community development at Enterprise Bank and Trust, works directly with low-and moderate-income people, many of whom are or have been unbanked. There are several different ways that people who don’t use a bank manage their money, he said.

First, there’s check cashing. Some people take their paychecks directly to a check casher or to Wal-Mart, paying a small fee to turn their paycheck into dollars. Wal-Mart usually charges $3 per check-cashing transaction. For many of Urquilla’s clients, this is a reasonable solution.

“If I don’t have a bank account and my employer hands me a check, a $3 fee at Wal-Mart is better than some of the banks,” he said.

Aside from paycheck income, sometimes people need a little extra money to get by, Urquilla said. It’s usually a few hundred dollars to fix a car, pay a medical bill or fix a leaky roof. But, according to Urquilla, big banks just don’t provide small personal loans anymore.

“So how do those folks who just need a few hundred dollars get access to funds?” he asked. “We know what’s been created from that supply and demand is payday loans.”

According to a 2012 study by the Pew foundation, Missouri ranks as the second highest in the nation for the utilization of payday loans.

“The system exists to fill a need, but it exists in a way that it’s almost impossible for the people they’re targeting to actually be able to recover,” Urquilla said.

Mayor Sly James of Kansas City recently signed a symbolic pledge against payday loans.

“We have to do something about this,” he said.

Channa Navarro, financial coach at the Women’s Employment Network, said many of her unbanked clients don’t want to use a bank because they don’t think they have enough money.

“They haven’t had enough income,” she said. “When you don’t have enough to make it, you’re not going to feel like you have enough to justify a bank account.

But, she said, it goes both ways: “No bank really wants clients that can’t keep $10 in their checking account.”

This is what happened with Manning. She has used a bank in the past but found it confusing. She said she never really understood the fees and now owes the banks somewhere between $200 and $500.

“You’re more broke when you put your money in the bank,” she said. “I feel like they take out for this and that. It seems like you should be able to manage your own money.”

For both Navarro and Urquilla, financial education for youth is key to getting more people involved in the financial system.

More and more people in Kansas City are ‘unbanked’ | The Kansas City Star

Perhaps one day you will at least attempt to step outside of your bubble and realize that lots of people have different experiences than you.

OAW

[BadKosh]

What screwed up priorities the Obama admin has. Aren't there better uses of their time?

[BadKosh]

Originally Posted by OAW 

Perhaps one day you will at least attempt to step outside of your bubble and realize that lots of people have different experiences than you.

OAW

Whats good for the gander is good for the goose.

[andi*pandi]

I don't think I could get by without a bank account. There are plenty of no fee checking accounts. My bank pays me $10 to use direct deposit, and another $10 if I do two online transactions (billpay) per month.

I don't know how you end up owing your bank $500, unless overdraft fees?

[Cap'n Tightpants]

Originally Posted by OAW 

We'll just chalk this up to either your profound ignorance or general assholishness. But millions of hardworking people use cash exclusively.

Grow up (or grow a sense of humor), Francis. Doesn't pouncing on me at any opportunity get old after a while?

[subego]

I was amused.

Even considered running with it, but decided my joke wasn't funnier than the potential legal repercussions are bad.

[Cap'n Tightpants]

I missed this due to the drama.

Originally Posted by subego 

Make me an overpriced drink.

I refuse to tip the barista, they make a lot more than a waiter/waitress per hour and making a drink is what they do, it's pretty much the only thing they do. It's not that I'm cheap (and I can be cheap, trust me), we're just way too tip crazy here in the US.

Can't remember the last time I entered a Starbucks, anyway. We have a cafe nearby called Sacred Grounds (run by a local tribe), that also makes handmade pastries, confections, and sandwiches, that absolutely puts them to shame. Being so near a tourist trap (Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge), we did have a Starbucks in our hamlet at one time, but it eventually closed up.

[Doc HM]

Originally Posted by andi*pandi 

I

I don't know how you end up owing your bank $500, unless overdraft fees?

If you are on a low or irregular income it is in fact spectacularly easy to rack up huge amounts of charges, via returned direct debits, unauthorised overdraught fees, etc. The charges on these charge also mount up faster than you would think could be legal (but sadly is).

Banks love direct debits for the ease of payment but they also love cashing out on the fees associated with them.

Low wage earners and people with irregular incomes are often amongst the least financially savvy (or educated). These fees can become impossible to manage in a matter of weeks.

[subego]

Originally Posted by Cap'n Tightpants 

I missed this due to the drama.



I refuse to tip the barista, they make a lot more than a waiter/waitress per hour and making a drink is what they do, it's pretty much the only thing they do. It's not that I'm cheap (and I can be cheap, trust me), we're just way too tip crazy here in the US.

Can't remember the last time I entered a Starbucks, anyway. We have a cafe nearby called Sacred Grounds (run by a local tribe), that also makes handmade pastries, confections, and sandwiches, that absolutely puts them to shame. Being so near a tourist trap (Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge), we did have a Starbucks in our hamlet at one time, but it eventually closed up.

It depends on the drink. I go to Starbucks because I likes me a Frappuccino. For Chai or Hot Chocolate I'll go other places.

That said, I only nominally like coffee, and find most coffee shops insufferable. The sidewalk cafe part of the closest one has been dubbed the "pretentious fog".

I tip them all a buck, though. Starbucks gets the coin because they won't let you tip on a credit card.

[Cap'n Tightpants]

What I like to do is pay the next few orders forward, I figure that's as good as a tip.

[subego]

Only if the people behind you are carrying cash.

[Cap'n Tightpants]

Huh?

[subego]

If I get payed forward, and I was going to pay in cash, the cost of the drink goes in the tip jar.

Sort of like when the bartender gets you a round on the house.

[Cap'n Tightpants]

I think most of your motivation for buying the coffee in the first place is to put a tip into the barista's pocket.

[subego]

It would be, but a certain amount of self-satisfaction is lost over me assuming when they hear a single clink in the jar they think "a quarter? Asshole..."

[Cap'n Tightpants]

They don't even hear paper money, so...

[The Final Dakar]

Good guy Steve king proposed an amendment to block Harriet Tubman on the 20 because it's sexist and racist.

[Cap'n Tightpants]

In its current form, for the reasons they're doing it, it is, strictly speaking. We just need to make most bills circulate to a new face every 10 years or so. We can place anything on them we want; men, women, historic monuments, animals, etc.. that way we don't end up in these situations.

[subego]

I think what Franklin wanted on money has relevance.