Letter to the President or Vice President in response to the GAO report.

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Subject:
Time for a Change in our Change

To:
President George Bush
Vice President Richard Cheney

(Insert date here)

Mr. President - Mr. Vice President,

On Dec.17, 2002 the General Accounting Office released a report titled "U.S.
Coins - Public Views on Changing Coin Design - GAO-03-206" It is very
possible for anyone who reads this report to be misdirected to drawing the
wrong conclusion. This is due to the way that the questions were formatted
and presented.

For example - the report states in its Results In Brief - "The survey
indicated that most adults in the continental United States were satisfied
with how frequently coin designs are changed. Sixty-eight percent of
respondents said that designs should be changed about as frequently as they
currently are."  "Most adults were satisfied with how frequently coin
designs are changed. Most respondents said the government should wait at
least 10 years before changing the design on a coin," However, the
respondents were not told how long the current designs have been in use -
Lincoln cent, 93 years; Jefferson 5-cent, 64 years; Roosevelt dime, 56
years; Kennedy half dollar, 38 years. I would have to say that 38 to 93
years is definitely a bit more than 10 ! Had the respondents been aware of
just how long it has been since these designs were changed, I rather think
that 68% would be closer to 0%.

Then in question #39 the respondents were asked - "In general, how
frequently should the design of U.S. coins be
changed?"  The respondents were not informed that the law currently states
that a coin's design can be changed every 25 years, nonetheless 2.5 percent
said every year, 7.3 percent said every 2 to 4 years, 21.7 percent said
every 5 to 9 years, 23 percent said every 10 to 14 years, 6.7 percent said
every 15 to 24 years and 35.6 percent said every 25 years or less
frequently. This clearly indicates that the survey's conclusion that 68% of
the respondents saying designs should be changed as frequently as they are
is in error.

In Appendix II of the report there is a list of questions regarding the
individual designs of our coinage. With the exception of the dollar & half
dollar coins, specific questions on the design of the individual coins were
not even asked of well over 90% of the respondents. They were merely asked
instead - "Do you think any aspect of the design of the quarter such as its
color, size, weight, or image, needs to be changed or is the quarter okay as
is?" 97% of the respondents answered okay as is. But yet the quarter's
design is currently changed 5 times a year ! This also indicates that the
reports conclusion that - "The survey indicated that most respondents were
also satisfied with current coin designs." may also be in error.

But perhaps what is the most glaring contradiction of this report's
conclusion that our coinage does not need redesign is the overwhelming
success of the State Quarter program. Never before in the entire history of
our Nation has the general public taken such an interest in our coinage.

In closing, I ask you to consider what a redesign of our cent, nickel, dime
& half dollar coins may also do for this Nation. It is Time For a Change in
Our Change !!

Sincerely,