Social Math

I have this theory that if the United States were to stop minting pennies, Ecuador would fall into some sort of social and political chaos. It might actually prompt the government to dust off the Sucre again, Ecuador's national currency which was eliminated in 2000 in favor of the stable USD. Pennies count here. The practice of many Americans of throwing away pennies (yes, people do this, there is a facebook page) is wildly appalling to those of us in the southern hemisphere.

While there's nothing that can make you feel more like an ass than paying for something in the United States with a $1 coin, coins (exact change) are a powerful thing in Ecuador. And the queen of exact change is Sacagewea. Apparently there are other versions of the $1 coin (Susan B. Anthony in the '90's, and more recently they've decided women shouldn't be on coins and switched to former presidents), but the U.S. mint appears to exclusively send Ecuador's central bank Sacageweas. I hardly ever see $1 bills, and have never seen another type of dollar coin in circulation.  

So Ecuador is where much-hated American coins go to happily live, yet a paradoxical vacuum of exact change. To quote an American friend living in Quito: "I have accumulated 15 $1 coins. I kiiiiiiiiiind of feel like this is more valuable than a 20 dollar bill."

Amen, sister. Let me give you an example. Right now I'm waiting for the gas truck to come and replace two tanks of my indoor carbon monoxide machines, ie my gas tanks. These tanks are crucial to my life, since I light that gas to heat my shower and boil the water I drink. Right now I'm in my pajamas and haven't showered (since I have no gas), and the gas truck is on its way. I have $4.95 in coins. I also have a $20 bill. These tanks are going to cost $5, plus a $1 tip for the man to haul it upstairs to my apartment. I'm going to go ahead and predict that the man will accept my $4.95 in coins-- thus eliminating his tip and not even covering the normal cost of the tanks-- instead of changing my $20 bill. He won't have change. 

I've been in banks where they won't change a $100 bill into smaller bills/coins, real national BANKS. Small currency, while maybe not an economic commodity, is certainly a social commodity. This is what I've deemed social math.

Social math quiz: If I get into a taxi with a friend and I have 3 $1 coins and she has a $20 bill, which one of us is richer? That's right, me, because I can pay for the taxi. There's no way that cab driver has $19 in change. If on the off chance he does, he'll certainly whine about it and shame us ruthlessly. Social math explains why I'll only recharge my cell phone (prepaid phones... sigh) at one specific tienda in my neighborhood. They always change big (ie $10) bills without whining, and I in turn pay in exact change when feeling benevolent.