Treasury Secretary Jack Lew stepped
into it when he suggested a woman replace Andrew Jackson on the $20
bill. Of course he got more than he bargained for in the way of
suggestions.
Jackson may deserve ousting but
virtually all the other guys on our bills carry some negative
baggage. Grant was a notorious anti-Semite, Ben Franklin was a
womanizer, etc. Pick a bill and we probably can find something nasty
about the guy who fronts it.
So, for the moment, let's forget about
changing the current currency lineup. My wife has an alternative
idea: She suggests we CREATE A NEW BILL, a $25 bill and put a
worthy woman on it. Think how convenient that would be when you want
to send a charitable donation or a gift and $20 seems cheap, $30 is
awkward and $50 is too much. $25 would be just about right. And if
fits nicely into our monetary system. Think four quarters make a
dollar, four $25s make a hundred. Sweet.
As for who to put on the bill, my
wife's' candidate is Eleanor Roosevelt, certainly a worthy choice. My
personal preference is Sacajawea, the Shoshone Indian woman who
guided Lewis and Clark through uncharted territory from Missouri to
the Pacific Coast in 1804-05.
If she could get those intrepid
explorers through such treacherous territory surely she could get Secretary Lew through his
female forest.
Just sayin'.
