National Review Blogger Terrified Of New Five-Dollar Bill

National Review blogger Mark Krikorian is all upset at the changes that have been made to U.S. currency, fingering the redesign of the five-dollar bill as the root cause of the weakening dollar, as opposed to...I don't know...the past seven years of economic and foreign policy.

Paper money has no intrinsic value, it can't be redeemed for gold or silver, you can't even make jewelry out of it. There's nothing behind it but the people's confidence in it, and when the government keeps changing its appearance, as it has with the successive redesigns over the past several years, that confidence is undermined.

Ehhh, I don't know. Seems to me that the best thing any single denomination of European currency had going for it was the image of hero flying-ace/beloved Little Prince author Antoine de Saint-Exupery on the fifty franc note. Nevertheless, opting, against all good aesthetic sense, for conversion to the bland Eurozone designs hasn't hurt the Euro against the dollar confidence-wise - and the Euro includes special design changes to accomodate the visually impaired as well.

Still Krikorian, like an unfrozen caveman lawyer, is against the new purple "5", saying: "If I wanted to use purple money, I'd move to a banana republic."

Speaking of banana republics, back when the same color was found painted on the index finger of every Iraqi who participated in their nation's pretend elections, his colleagues would have had you believe that purple ink would cure anything!

Comments

[jesselee26]

wow. the only people i've ever known to go so in depth into the aesthetic attributes of their folding money had fairly intimate relationships with their bongs. just saying.

[ThirdSection]

Actually, Krikorian may have a small point. While people in the United States don't lose faith in the curency whenever it's redesigned, there are some countries out there where a new currency design equals a new currency, and the cancellation of the old currency. It stands to reason that people living in those countries might lose faith in the Dollar whenever it gets redesigned.

However, to conclude that currency redesign is the prime mover behind the Dollar's recent poor performance would be pure hogwash.

[lisakaz2]

That's a big leap. You think other currencies have never been redesigned? Besides, there are some real dopes here who might think this. When I was in COLLEGE (and not a 2 yr college but a prestigious 4 yr place), some students were stupid enough to ask the guy from Hawaii "what the exchange rate was between there and the US [mainland]­." His answer was hysterically funny: "oh it's 1:1 but our dollars have little pineapples on 'em."

Krikorian might be inclined to that level of idiocy.

[mlaiuppa]

Nothing wrong with any of the new bills. I really like the holographic color shift ink.

The nickel, however, I really hate. It looks like counterfeit. Only....wh­o would bother to counterfeit a nickel?

[Zogtastic]

Exactly!!! It's the perfect crime!

Unless it costs 6 cents to counterfeit one...

[hbw3]

Wasn't the currency redesigned so that it would be harder to counterfei­t...

...so as to partly maintain "the people's confidence in it"?

Another child left behind I fear.

[AmbivalentGuy]

I'm looking into banking accounts in other currencies.
Hell Canadian dollars are booming, not my choice though.

I just don't have any experience with it and don't know how to to do it.

Advice would be appreciated.

[Rockwell]

Um, actually Mark, the $5 bill can be exchanged for Gold or Silver. It will buy approximately $5 worth.

[hbw3]

LOL!

[EosBlue]

Good one!

[morbie5]

Ok, moron. Have you ever heard of the gold standard?

[nolabels]

I don't like the five either but seriously, this guy needs to redo his high school economics class. Our money says god on it. Now, that devalues it.

[lisakaz2]

Is this guy for real? No, Bu$hco has nothing to do with problems but a purple "5" ??? It's a wonder he didn't accuse it of making the "5" gay.

[MajorKong]

If Krikorian doesn't like the new $5 bills I'll be happy to take them off his hands.

[munimula]

It's still terrible that the USA won't change the currency notes to different sizes to aid the visually impaired (or those of us who do our spending in the dark).

[ThirdSection]

It's going to happen soon, now that a federal court ruled that it must happen.

Shortly thereafter, Krikorian will be moving to Moldova.

[AmbivalentGuy]

I think it's a great idea.
You don't make mistakes, and you get a visual cue on what your spending. I am cash guy.
I also thin we should skip the $1 coin, and make a $2 coin (it it'd be like a quarter when I was 6 - I remember when a quarter was a big score). That's a handy coin.

[AmbivalentGuy]

Maybe he's afraid of purple - I'm partially colorblind, but purple is a cool color to me.
Purple, hmmmmm,
Makes me want a $100 with THE rainbow on it

[AmbivalentGuy]

Oh
you know THE one I'm talking about.
It takes a fundie out like a cross takes out a vampire.

[Adagio]

There's a reason they are called "conservat­ives." They never want anything to change - EVER. That is unless it can be changed it back to the way it was circa 1950.

[TheIndependenceParty]

Actually I believe the "5" is printed in gentian violet, and is intended to naturally disinfect the bills, ... or perhaps I am wrong again.

[AmbivalentGuy]

I'd love to have that kind of color vision.
I'm weak in one primary color - I think red.
It just looks like a light purple to me.

[donballz]

The cosmetic changes were mainly to make it more difficult to make conterfeit bills. This could only have positive effects on the dollar's value. Rightists need a winning issue. They must be so bored.

[UpandSincere]

This guy sounds like a Ron Paul supporter but I think he should consider William Jennings Bryan for November.
His will be done at 16 to 1!

[zippywpinhead]

maybe Krikorian thinks Abe Lincoln is wearing one of them thar checkered scarves- that'd scare him good....

[metogamekun]

That'd be a great prank - drape all the statues in DC with paisley scarves.