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Opinion

Godless Money

AT ISSUE: An error at the U.S. Mint resulted in thousands of new George Washington Presidential $1 coins being produced without the phrases "In God We Trust" and "E Pluribus Unum," as well as the mark indicating where they were minted and edge inscriptions. The mistake calls into question a larger issue: In a nation of diverse citizens with various religious backgrounds, including atheists, should our currency hold the phrase "In God We Trust" in the first place? 

MONICA GRANGER: Consumptive secularism is America's new religion and the slew of lawsuits against public-sphere religious displays, mostly against displays of Judeo-Christian culture, proves it. 

The phrases "In God We Trust" and "E Pluribus Unum" belong for the incontrovertible reason that the ideals are part of America's historical foundation and unlike other unsavory institutions (i.e., slavery), they harm no one. All are free to disregard the statements' modern applicability; none may disregard their historical aptness. 

More pressing than looks, however, is the issue of our currency's value, which has been declining since the replacement of the gold standard with private central banks' government-enforced fiat currency around 1914. Americans need to take back control of their currency, and their economic freedom. 

Furthermore, as the money influxes to the economy, investors and producers spend money they do not have (i.e., overvalued money) and spend it on projects they otherwise would not have, both of which leads to the misallocation of scarce resources

Americans should not look to government to reinstate a gold standard, though. Instead, free banking should be the norm as Americans take back their economic liberty from the private bankers who now unjustly control it. Who knows, with competitive currencies, maybe even "In Allah We Trust" will appear some day.

Granger is an economics/political science senior.

It doesn't matter what money says, we won't be using it much longer.

CHRISTIAN PALMER: While the oversight by the U.S. Mint may be just that, the aftermath derived from the mistake says a lot. Most people probably wouldn't even notice if the phrase "In God We Trust" were removed. Just think about the last time you used change; it was probably when you had to beg for an extra 15 cents to get a soda or morning beverage.

Coins are becoming less useful all the time and they say the penny won't be with us very much longer, anyway. Even dollar bills are facing similar issues; debit and credit cards are used to purchase everything that comes with a price tag, whether it is 99 cents or $99. 

Cash only comes in handy when buying lottery tickets that will never do you any good.

It doesn't really matter if the phrase is removed from currency that's on its way to oblivion. Some people will do all they can to preserve the historical integrity of our money (which is actually on a similar kind of plan as this God character in whom we seem to put our trust) even though it's completely useless. 

If it makes them feel better, though, let them spend their spring break filing all the paperwork and submitting the petitions and whatnot if that's their idea of great fun. Everyone else will be in Cancun spending too many pesos or will be otherwise incapacitated. 

Palmer is a media production/sociology junior

Phrase says a lot about our country's founding -- a lot that isn't true.

CHEYCARA LATIMER: For the U.S. Mint to make a mistake such as this seems all too strange to be true. According to the U.S. Mint Web site, this vital piece of not only the U.S. Government, but of the American society, has been in existence since 1792 and is capable of producing billions of coins a year. As much as we would like to think that mistakes do not happen at the U.S. Mint, they do and probably will again in the future. 

It is very hard to believe that this was a glitch in their production process or even in the machines that are used daily. There are too many intricate steps and processes done for a "glitch" to happen. Quality control is more than likely taken more seriously at the U.S. Mint than it is anywhere else in the corporate and government sector. 

According to the First Amendment, as citizens, we have the right to practice our own religion without any chastisement from the government. If we are truly a country of religious tolerance and freedom, then it could be said that by having "In God We Trust" on our currency is imposing one person's religious beliefs on those who may not believe in a Christian god or any other religious deity. 

By imprinting "In God We Trust" on our currency, the government is saying that the United States was established solely upon a system of faith when in actuality our forefathers just wanted to have the freedom to exist as people.

Latimer is a communication/English post-baccalaureate student.

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