Businesses understand that generating more of a product than customers want is a money-losing proposition.
That has never seemed to worry the government, which regularly ignores the law of supply and demand. After all, why worry about wasting taxpayers’ money?
President Barack Obama is seeking, on a small scale for Washington, to change that at the Treasury Department.
Bravo!
In 2005, Congress mandated the Treasury Department produce one-dollar coins featuring the likenesses of all U.S. presidents. The idea didn’t appeal to consumers, who use fewer than half the 70 million-80 million coins produced each year. The rest are returned to the Treasury, where they are stored.
Obama is ordering nearly all production of the coins cease. Only as many as collectors want will be minted in the future.
That will save the government about $50 million a year in production and storage costs.
Congress should go the next step and simply cancel the wasteful program altogether.
— The Journal, Martinsburg, Ky., Dec. 19
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