Thanks To Rising Cotton Prices, Dollar Bills are Now Worth Less Than the Paper They’re Printed On

Our money is printed on paper that's 75% cotton, 25% linen.  Cotton prices have been skyrocketing globally.  And it's gotten to the point where the cost of the cotton plus the cost of manufacturing each bill is MORE than $1.

In other words, dollar bills are worth less than the paper they're printed on.

In response, the U.S. Government Accountability Office just released a study that shows how replacing dollar bills with dollar coins could save the country $5.5 BILLION over the next 30 years.

Not only would it be cheaper to make coins, but they're more durable than bills so they'd last longer.

The GAO says if the government did commit to dollar coins, the only way to make it work would be to PULL $1 bills from circulation.  Previous studies have shown that as long as dollar bills are around, Americans will reject dollar coins.

They say the process of transitioning from dollar bills to dollar coins would take about four years.

(Time)