http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-oe-stei...
"Kolbe and many other coin supporters said politics has also been a major obstacle. Prominent Massachusetts Democrats such as Financial Services ranking member Barney Frank and the late Sen. Edward Kennedy have been ardent defenders of Crane & Co., which manufactures the cotton-based paper used in U.S. currency."
"One-dollar bills represent nearly half of Crane’s currency business, and replacing the $1 note altogether would mean the loss of hundreds of jobs, the company said."
"Clearly they had an interest in maintaining the use of the paper,” Kolbe said. [Pay big attention here>>>] “Crane was the only company that could qualify as the producer.”
http://www.rollcall.com/news/Dollar-Bill-Coin-Coalition-Lobb...
And just to add to how much a paper dollar costs compared to a coin: A dollar bill costs $0.04 and is remade every 18 months. A dollar coin costs $0.08 and lasts 30 years.
Crane & Co. has yearly revenues of about 300 million (revenues mind you, not profits). Less than a quarter of that is US currency paper. A 75 million dollar a year business is hardly worth it to invest in bribery or lobbying.
One doesn't need an op-ed to know that Congressmen lean to help companies in their districts that also make campaign contributions. Crane may be a small fish in the global paper mill business, but how much did they contribute to Kennedy's campaign fund over the last 5 decades?
Every other country on the planet has managed to smoothly eliminate the paper dollar/deutschmark/pound/etc when introducing an equivalent coin. All the claims of "oh, the people want to keep the dollar" are bullshit. Where's the documented public protest over keeping the paper dollar, other than the astroturfed group Save The Greenback?
"In 2006, then-Rep. Jim Kolbe (R) of Arizona, the country’s largest supplier of copper, introduced a bill that would have done away with the dollar, but it lay dormant in a Financial Services subcommittee. Kolbe, who introduced similar legislation AT LEAST FIVE TIMES throughout his career..."
The facts remain. Any legislative movement to eliminate the paper dollar has either been stalled in committee or never even mentioned in dollar coin legislation. Why is that?
If my beliefs are off base, let's hear your theory.
Only one mill in the world is allowed to produce the "paper" for US currency. Paper mills in general have equipment that works well for wood pulp paper, not the specialized equipment required to prepare and process the cotton based paper used in US dollars.
Because of the mandatory security costs involved and the fact they have to buy additional secret materials other than cotton and linen from the government, the profit margins on currency paper are razor thin. The only real benefit they get is a huge reference customer for their other secure paper business.