Would you be less likely to spend a dollar if it were a coin instead of a bill?

The Government Accountability Office is counting on it.

According to a November report on the benefits of permanently replacing the $1 bill with a $1 coin, the GAO estimated the government could save up to $4.4 billion over 30 years because of consumers’ habit of reaching for their wallets instead of into their pockets.

“What we found is that people use coins differently,” said Lorelei St. James of the GAO. “You’re more likely to have dollar coins and hold those … those are going to go into your coin jar. With dollar bills you typically don’t do that.”

It costs about 5 1/2 cents to make a $1 bill and about 18 cents to produce a $1 coin, according to the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Mint.

So where are the savings?

Frankly, in your coin jar, on top of your desk and in between your couch cushions. The GAO estimates the government would have to produce 1 1/2...

One of the most puzzling aspects of the "fiscal cliff" negotiations, at least to me, has been President Obama's insistence on raising the tax rates on the highest income brackets. After appearing flexible on that issue in the days after the election, he has since made it abundantly clear that any deal with the GOP must increase the government's bite on individual incomes greater than $200,000 and on couples earning more than $250,000.

Why raise marginal rates when there are other approaches that could generate the same amount of revenue without distorting labor and investment incentives or making the United States less attractive to global entrepreneurs? For example, capping deductions at $25,000 for upper-income households would raise almost as much money as ending the Bush-era tax breaks for those groups, according to a new report from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

Some Republicans, such as former White House advisor David Gergen, arguethat Democrats want to...

Clerks who make $165,000 a year? That’s outrageous!

So, how much do you make?

It’s not a question one asks in polite conversation. But for the striking clerical workers at the Los Angeles ports, who agreed to a tentative deal to end their strike late Tuesday, their total compensation became front-page news: an average of $165,000.

Except.

Did you read that sentence carefully? Did you notice the words “total compensation”? That’s right. Sometimes it pays to read the fine print.

When the clerical workers went on strike last week, I have to admit I too was surprised when I read that folks in a job requiring a high school education could be making $165,000 a year, and had turned down an offer that would net them $195,000 a year, plus 11 weeks or so of vacation and other benefits.

Many commenters on our stories were, shall we say, less than kind to the “greedy” workers and their union.

Except.

We all jumped the gun. And here’s why, from The...

There’s buzz that Anna Wintour, the powerful editor of Vogue magazine, is being considered by President Obama for the prestigious post of U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom-- correctly known as ambassador to the Court of St. James's.

When White House Press Secretary Jay Carney was asked about this at a news briefing, he wouldn't bite. But it is that time of the postelection season when plum assignments are being bestowed upon supporters, and when ambassadors who got political appointments in Obama's first term are stepping down.

Of course, the first qualification for being ambassador to a fun, cushy country like Britain -- as opposed to one engulfed in civil war or terrorism and/or located  in the Middle East and therefore requiring a serious Foreign Service officer -- is raising heaps of money to help elect the president. And that Wintour did, mostly through a series of high-dollar, celebrity-studded fundraisers, including a $38,500-a-plate dinner at “Sex and the City&...

Though President Obama quickly dismissed the Republicans' deficit-reduction proposal this week as "out of balance," the plan offered by House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) provides his party the negotiation starting point his side had lacked. More important, it's a sign that America might not be pushed over the "fiscal cliff" after all.

The proposal was what you could come to expect from a Republican initial offer -- no tax rate increases and deep cuts to social programs -- but it's also a starting point for the nitty gritty of behind-closed-door negotiations.

Republicans had said that indicating they were open to new revenue sources after the election was in itself an initial bid, an opening volley in fiscal cliff gamesmanship. But simply showing flexibility on a no-tax pledge to Grover Norquist without offering anything more isn't a real proposal, it's just showing you won't automatically take your ball and go home.

In their latest offer, the GOP leaders endorsed the outline of...

By now you've probably seen a reference to "Big Data," especially if you're interested in technology, marketing trends or the mechanics of political campaigns. It's such a hot topic, it's even found its way into newspaper editorials.

As the volume of coverage implies, there's something important going on here, perhaps even transformational. The enormous amount of information being generated and collected daily by websites, smartphones and a global array of sensors has the potential to change how products are developed and sold, how services are delivered, how children are educated -- the list goes on and on. But what does "Big Data" actually mean, and how do the calculations of data scientists translate into something that matters to the average person?

Those were the questions that Rick Smolan, the photographer behind the "Day in the Life" book series and "America 24/7," set out to answer in his latest project. The $50 coffee table book "The Human Face of Big Data," which was released...

The  draft constitution that will be put before Egypt’s voters is being criticized for its lack of any language explicitly guaranteeing equal rights for women.  But in that regard it resembles the constitution of a country that prides itself on affording women equal rights – the United States. And a previous constitution that did grant equal status to men and women was hedged with qualifications that feminists would find objectionable.

The now-suspended 1971 constitution did recognize women’s “equal status with men in the fields of political, social, cultural and economic life”  -- but subject to “the rules of Islamic jurisprudence.” The same article committed the state to guaranteeing “the proper balance between the duties of women towards the family and their work in society.”  Not exactly a feminist formulation.

The new draft constitution prepared by an Islamist-dominated assembly doesn’t explicitly guarantee women’s...

Windsor Castle as ground zero for women’s lib?

And Downton Abbey a no-go zone for women’s rights -- the same stately home where one titled daughter had a hot session of illicit sex, another married the radical chauffeur and the third made out with a farmer?

HRH the Duchess of Cambridge -- Kate, nee Middleton -- is pregnant with a child who will, boy or girl, at some time well into this century sit on the British throne.

Big deal, you’re thinking. A girl in charge. Britain has had two queens regnant in about a half-century: Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II. Ah, but here’s the rub: If either of those women had had a brother, she would have been throneless. Brothers, even younger, invalid or incompetent brothers, always muscled their way to the front of the royal line. Not anymore.

The British government is hustling to backdate some changes to Britain’s royal documents to reflect new rules approved by commonwealth governments in October 2011. Royal boys...

It’s the news that launched a thousand headlines Monday across the pond: the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expecting! 

Thank goodness -- the British monarchy will endure. A future king or queen (as The Times reported, “The royal act of succession was changed last October to admit the eldest child whether son or daughter, rather than the eldest son to inherit the throne”) is on the way.

Heck, they’re so modern now, the news was announced on Buckingham Palace’s website.

As you might expect, this being a royal baby and all, even normal things take on added significance. For example:

Confirmation came from the royal household after Kate Middleton, Queen Elizabeth’s daughter-in-law, was admitted to King Edward VII hospital in central London suffering from acute morning sickness. The announcement said Kate was likely to remain in the hospital for several days, but that her illness was not serious.

Yep, that’s right, moms of the world -- “...

The Santa Monica Nativity scene will go on display after all -- on private property, where it belongs.

The holiday display in a city park had become a divisive issue in Santa Monica, which had instituted a lottery for holiday displays -- spots that were mostly won by atheist groups. Faced with the requirement of either fairly allowing all religious beliefs to have space or none, the city opted for the latter. Court challenges to that decision lost.

I'd take it one step further. Public parks serve many functions, but among them shouldn't be unattended displays for private groups. The park belongs to all of the public for recreation. If exceptions are to be made for religious or anti-religious displays during the holiday season, why not allow Planned Parenthood and antiabortion groups to set up their own displays at other times of the year?

Holiday displays can be delightful, but it's not as though there aren't ample places for such messages, such as the lawns outside churches and the...

The mayoral campaign of Eric Garcetti used a new poll Monday to tout its candidate's early strength, while acknowledging that there are miles to go before Los Angeles elects its next mayor.

Bill Carrick, the Garcetti campaign's chief strategist, said the poll by Loyola Marymount University's Center for the Study of Los Angeles demonstrated that Garcetti's slim lead -- he was favored by 36.1% to Controller Wendy Greuel's 32.3% -- is bolstered by its breadth. As I reported in Monday's paper, Garcetti led across a number of demographic categories, including Latinos, Asians, Democrats, union households and voters of every education level as well as most income levels.

The campaign's principal challenge, Carrick said, is to reach across the city and expand the traditional voting base for a mayoral campaign. Garcetti leads strongly among Latinos and Asians, for instance, and turning out that vote will be crucial for him. Carrick predicted that at least 25% of the vote for mayor in March will...