Sunday 22 November 2015

sometimes I wonder...

Sometimes I wonder...

I know what you're thinking.  You're thinking I'm gonna say, sometimes I wonder 'bout my peeps.  Well truth be told, I do.  In fact, I wonder about them more than just sometimes.  If we're gonna be honest here, I wonder about them ALL the time.  It's kind of like a full-time job or something!  Those peeps of mine do have a tendency to do an awful lot of crazy stuff that all needs to be wondered about, for sure.  MOUSES!

But this time - this ONE time - I was wondering about someone else.  This time I was wondering about...

Perhaps I should go back to the beginning.

Sometimes I wonder about peeps.  Not my peeps but peeps in general.  MOUSES!

So I was watching a little television this morning, with the peeps, when an advertisement came on.  It was an advertisement for a silver coin.  Apparently the Royal Canadian Mint is selling twenty dollar coins with Superman on 'em or something like that.

Now you might be thinking, so what?  To tell you the truth, the first time I saw this aforementioned advertisement, I thought, so what, too.

But that was the first time.

Today when I saw the ad, I realized that I have seen this particular ad many times before.  Clearly, they're having some trouble selling those coins.

So I did a little kitty math and twenty minutes later, I realized that these coins are basically free. FREE.  FREE!  And they still can't sell 'em.  Can't sell 'em for free!  MOUSES!

Oh, I'm sure they they've sold some.  Well at least I hope they've sold some but they haven't sold 'em all because, like I said, they're still advertising them on TV.  MOUSES!

But let's get back to this business about these coins being free.

These silver - yup, that's right, they're made of silver - coins cost twenty dollars each but they're worth twenty dollars, too.  So if you went to the bank and wanted to deposit one or something, you'd be depositing twenty dollars just as if you were depositing a twenty dollar bill because the twenty dollar coin is worth twenty dollars which is exactly what you paid for it so in other words, it's kind of like it's free.

It's not all that different from taking four five dollar bills to the bank and asking them to give you one twenty dollar bill in their place, when you think about it, except for the fact that in that case you're going from four bills to one instead of one coin to one bill but still, really, you're just switching it up a bit without spending a cent.  Or a dollar.  Or even twenty.

Now you're probably wondering how much it actually costs to get this free twenty dollar coin. Nothing.  Hard to believe but it's true.  There's free shipping and everything.  MOUSES!

But here comes the catch.  You know there always is one.  There's always a catch, especially when we're talking tuna but even when we're not, there's always a catch to be caught.  MOUSES!

These twenty dollar coins might be free to the buyers - who, as explained above, are technically simply exchangers or traders - but they're not exactly free to the Canadian taxpayers and stuff.  Let me explain...

If a peep trades - yeah, trades - a twenty dollar bill for a twenty dollar coin that's worth twenty dollars, the peep still ends up with twenty dollars.  Sure, it's now a silver coin instead of paper but bottom line is, it's still twenty dollars.  Now if that peep is trading rather than buying, the Mint must be trading, too, which means they can't be selling.  They're simply trading the silver for paper.  So even though they're calling it a sale, it's really a trade of two things of equal value which means there's no profit to be made in that there sale, that's really a trade, at all.  MOUSES!

But if you have two happy traders, what's the harm in that?

Well like I said earlier, today was the not the first time I have seen this ad for this twenty dollar coin, worth twenty dollars.  I've seen this ad many times before.  Apparently, the Royal Canadian Mint has been advertising these coins over and over and over again.

This means that the Royal Canadian Mint has been paying money to advertise their selling (which remember, is really trading) of these twenty dollar coins for twenty dollars.  In other words, they've been paying money to make zero profit.

Now I will admit that I, myself, have only seen the ads on CBC Television which is funded by the Canadian government so really, I suppose, money from one arm of the government is simply going to another arm of the government so one could argue that no real money is being spent on these ads unless, of course, you take into account that those advertising slots could have been sold to some other business, independent of the government, that would have PAID good money for them. Perhaps they would have paid using twenty dollar coins or perhaps they would have used twenty dollar bills but it doesn't really matter because as we all know, twenty dollars is still twenty dollars. And if you take that into account, then yeah, advertising revenue has been lost - LOST - assuming, of course, that someone wanted to buy advertising in the first place.  MOUSES!

You know, when you think about it, this buying and selling of advertising slots by different arms of the government is a whole lot like trading, too.  Trading numbers in columns on one arm to columns on another arm which we'll call trading for lack of a better word - because it's not like I'm an accountant or anything who would know such things - as the various columns are all on arms belonging to the same entity...  the government.

And it doesn't end there.  Nope, it sure doesn't.

Remember how I said there was free shipping on all these trades?  Guess the Mint must be paying for not only advertising but for shipping, too, although I suppose this is really simply more trading because I'm assuming they'll be shipping via Canada Post which is another appendage of the Canadian government.  MOUSES!

To tell you the truth, I've confused myself with all this talk of buying and selling that's really trading.  Trading and counting up the various Canadian appendages upon which we can tally said trades.

But if we look really hard - really, REALLY hard - I do believe that somewhere in all this confusion, is the answer as to why Canada can no longer afford to make one cent coins, otherwise known as pennies.

I'll make 'em a trade.  I'll trade the Canadian government one twenty dollar coin for some of my thoughts.  MOUSES!

20 comments:

  1. Dang, that is confusing but it should be since politicians likely came up with the whole idea. I think catching 20 dollars worth of tuna is a great idea though!

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    1. Twenty dollars worth of tuna? That's an EXCELLENT idea, for sure! purrs

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  2. You is such a thoughtful kitty Seville. We should make you the Minister of Finance.

    Sasha, Sami, & Saku

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    1. I could do that! You think they'd pay me in coins or bills? Inquiring minds wanna know. purrs

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  3. Seville, your thoughts are worth more than one $20 coin. You are far wiser than your government. And I take back what I said the other day about your Math skills, they are very good.

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  4. You should put those money humans straight, Seville!

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  5. Definitely tuna for thought in that. Maybe if they have some spares they could melt them down and re-issue with great Canadians on, Nissy for instance? purrs

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    1. A coin with Nissy's picture on it? That would be PURRfect, for there's no greater Canadian than my brother, Nerissa the Cat. purrs

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  6. MOL, I'd make dat trade wif da US government too!

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  7. We definitely think you should be paid $20.00 for your thoughts Seville. They are great thoughts and also good thinking about all this silver coin stuff. You all have a great day

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    1. I think so, too. Inflation, you know? Price has gone up from a penny. MOUSES!

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  8. Your thoughts are worth far more than $20, Seville, but I have to admit I am totally confused.

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  9. OH man - * crosses eyes * THIS is just so confusing Seville - I mean you get them free, but they cost but only if This or That.

    I need to lie down and Mum is no good at sums and she went paler and paler.....

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    1. And when adding in the new kitty math, you have to add by nines 'til you can't add any more and then multiply everything by nine, then divide it all by nine, then... It is 'supposed' to be simpler or something. MOUSES!

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  10. Ya can't explain the math used by politicians Seville. It is not real math...purrs

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    1. Nope, that's how they come up with that funny budgeting and stuff. MOUSES!

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I love hearin' from my pals. I really, REALLY do. PURRS.