THE EDITOR, Sir:
WHEN I was a child I would often hear my mother say every mickle makes a muckle. As an adult I now wonder whether we in Jamaica appreciate the importance of that concept even though at least one prominent merchant bank currently uses elements of that idiom in its advertisements.
Sometime ago the Governor of the Bank of Jamaica made it crystal clear that the one-cent coin is legal tender. That reassurance came at a time when many retail businesses had seemingly adopted a policy were the displayed prices of goods would be rounded off to the nearest dollar at the checkout counter, presumably to simplify the process of making change. In some instances the consumer would benefit but in other cases it would amount to short-changing.
Surprisingly, most people were unconcerned. And even now it is most astounding that the 10 and 25-five cent coins are treated with such disdain. Many people simply discard them like trash. Even beggars refuse to take them. Have we as a people lost sight of what it means to economise?
The coins which are now strewn all over the streets of this country could perhaps be utilised to fund an important national project or even considerably reduce our debt burden.
I am, etc.,
RUEL WOOLCOCK
Ventura49@hotmail.com
Portmore, St Catherine
Via Go-Jamaica
