Get used to the idea

I see the nickel made the front page of the Wall Street Journal yesterday. The topic of the story was that it and the cent are more expensive to make than what the government gets when it puts them into circulation.

What surprised me was that there was nothing new in it. No hearings are set. No specific proposal was set out.

We are just reminded that when costs are high the government wants to change the composition.

Perhaps someone is laying the groundwork to get the issue before the public, get them used to the discussion and then spring something later.

Who knows?

The Treasury secretary is still seeking the authority to change composition at will, though when set in the context of all the lobbyists and coin-using vending machine operators, the article does serve as a reminder of just how slow the process is even if the Treasury secretary is given this new power.