A Pacific Dollar

One of the bugbears of travel is the need to change currency when going overseas. Having different exchange rates is also a problem as far as trade is concerned. One day the importers are waving flags and at the same time farmers and others who export are in the doldrums.

In the Pacific area there are a number of nations who could group together with a united currency. I have in mind the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore for a start.

The only people who profit from all these different currencies to my mind seem to be the banks and speculators. My bank charged me $8 to convert Australian banknotes to US bills and then another $8 to convert the US bills back to Australian banknotes. Add to this the extra they collect by working the exchange rates in their favour and the added fees for having foreign currency transactions on your credit card. Don't you think this is somewhat ridiculous?

In a historical context the ridiculousness of having separate currencies can be seen in the myriad of German states before unification where you could travel only say 10 kilometres before finding yourself in a new duchy or principality and having to change your florints into talers. Luckily someone with some sense in 1871 decided on a single currency when the German states united. That common sense was carried forward when the European states united with a single currency - the Euro. How much easier it all is!

Why don't we now have a Pacific dollar? Are we all so stupidly nationalistic that we need to have something symbolic on a banknote that is representative of our own country? Could we not forgo that sentimental jingoism in order to make our lives easier? The coinage of course could be like that of the Euro and depict something applicable to each separate country on one side.

I suppose bureaucracy will get in the way of common sense. There will be screams that the greenback is the only currency Americans know - well it has only existed in its current form since 1934 and is not the most friendly of currencies with all notes the same size and colour virtually. Then there will be the argument for the new plastic money and so on and so forth and all the while, we the people will be the ones continuing to suffer.

We have to overcome the pettyness and look to the big picture. Hopefully one day common sense will prevail and a common currency will exist in the Pacific area.