the great change robbery.....

the great change robbery....





  Change seems to be the most prominent word today.   Minorities are demanding cultural change CoVid-19 has mandated more unconventional change; and of all things, we seem to be out of change! Or, at the least, it has become scarce!

  Huh? What's up with that?

  Coins have been with us since the Lydians invented them in 600 B.C.  Lydia was a kingdom tied to ancient Greece and located in modern-day Turkey.  According to live science.com, the coins featured the stylized head of a lion and were made of electrum, an alloy of gold and silver.  However, the concept of money had been around awhile.  

  So, you would think there's an abundance of change, wouldn't you? 

  As an example:

  Some women change their name when they marry.

  Traffic lights constantly change color.

  Climate change is always in the news. 

  Your car or truck has probably had many oil changes.

  Certainly, the times change.  Or, at least Bob Dylan told us they did. 

  We regularly change our clothes based upon activities. 

  Your attitude changes from one day to the next.  

  In a philosophical sense, the only thing that's permanent is change.  

  Every three months the seasons change

  Go figure.  How can we be out of change?

  The United States mint came into being in 1792.  A year later, the smallest denomination ever minted in this country, a half-cent, was produced.  That was in Philadelphia.  Since then, there are all types of change and today it's all minted in the City of Brotherly Love, Denver, San Francisco and West Point.

  Just like the Lydians, we've been walking around with change in our pockets ever since.  

  But, now, we're being told there is a shortage of change, thus The Great Change Robbery was born!

  How does something like this happen?  Did we go to bed one night thinking change was bountiful, then wake up to the cry of a change shortage?  

  The mints are producing change.  The banks have the change.  We have rolls of change hidden away somewhere in the house like it's the original lost treasure.  The supermarkets have cash registers full of change. All retail stores seem to have enough change.  Many of us even have a wine bottle or jar tucked away in the back of a closet that's loaded with loose change

  Go figure.  How can we be out of change

  Could this be a conspiracy?  We've all heard CoVid-19 will disappear after this November's election.   Can we say the same about this apparent scarcity?  Will we suddenly have more change after this presidential election is decided, regardless of who is victorious?  After all, don't both political parties constantly clamor for change?

  Will the great change shortage of 2020 suddenly prove to be a false dearth of change?  
  
  Is it possible the movement behind the effort to abolish the one cent coin has gone to extreme measures to show us we don't need change to conduct commerce?  Consider:  The United States military has done away with pennies at all military bases.  So, does that mean we no longer need change?  In the future, will all sale items do away with 99 cents and the cost be rounded up to the nearest dollar?  

  Go figure.  How can we be out of change?

  A clerk was recently overheard to say to a customer, Sorry, I can't change that because there's a worldwide shortage of change

  Now it's the whole world?  Can we assume she was speaking from lack of real knowledge about the subject, or was she privy to some intel the rest of the world has not been made aware?  

  Banks are refusing to give out or sell rolls of coins.  A local supermarket will not give back change, preferring instead to add the amount to your reward card.  

  Go figure.  How can we be out of change?

  It would be easy to blame this whole debacle on CoVid-19.  Everything that's happened in the past six months is because of the virus that unexpectedly careened out of control and targeted our bank accounts.  Corporations are late paying bills; new cars and trucks are in short supply; businesses are hurting and in fact, too many are closing their doors for good; large retailers say they can't last much longer if sales don't improve.  All because of a virus.  

  Well, guess what?  According to Fortune.com, there indeed is a genuine change shortage and it in fact has been caused by (drum roll please)........CoVid-19!  

  The U.S. Federal Reserve acknowledged the shortage with a news release saying in part...CoVid-19 caused people to stay home and not spend their change as normal.  In addition...the virus is also the blame for a lack of coin production from the U.S. mint(s). 

  It appears this conundrum has been solved. The Federal Reserve has come to the rescue to explain the lack of change. The Great Change Robbery will go the same way the toilet paper shortage went and change will soon be plentiful.

  Coming up in the near future, you will meet a dynamic cheese master, some pickleball enthusiasts, and more encore performances.  Plus, what's behind the camper craze? 

  This cataclysm of a change shortage mirrored these turbulent times.  But, who knows what's next?  We'll probably be hearing about somebody who wants to do away with the post office.

HUH? What's up with that?  

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

pos #7...

oddities, observations & ?'s...#14