Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, July 16, 1990 TAG: 9007140029
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Mag Poff
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Is it not clear that the meaning of the word "coin" was clearly that it means metallic money, with the value of such metal to be at least similar to the recognized value of the denomination printed on the money? Further, if the Congress is to "regulate," is it not clear that that which is to be regulated must, of itself, have a definition? But presently our dollar is wholly without intrinsic or tangible definition. How is it then that our courts can confirm the constitutionality of our present monetary system? What went wrong that 60 years ago one could buy a gallon of gasoline for 10 cents and also a loaf of bread, but today each of these costs ten times as much?
A: Webster's Third New International Dictionary defines coin as a piece of metal, or rarely some other material, certified by a mark upon it as being of a specific intrinsic or exchange value; specifically, it is such a piece issued by a government authority to circulate as lawful money. So the generic definition contains no mandate that the metal equal the value stamped on its face.
The problem, according to David Karmol, spokesman for the U.S. Mint in Washington, is that the value of silver in a coin would outweigh the designated value of the coin.
Karmol said the contrary is true: the government makes money on coins. It costs between six and seven-tenths of a cent, for instance, to produce a penny.
The difference, said Karmol, is called "seignorage," a word that stems from sovreign. The difference between the production cost and the actual value once went to the king, Karmol said, so the concept has been around for a very long time.
In the United States, the profit is treated as an off-budget receipt, Karmol said, and it's money that the government doesn't have to borrow. Last year, he said, the U.S. Mint turned over $590 million toward reducing the budget deficit.
Karmol said coins contained silver until 1964. A quarter, for instance, used to contain 0.18084 of a gram of silver against a total metal weight of 6.25 grams. Its own intrinsic value as metal fluctuated with the silver market.
Congress controls the currency system, setting the content, size and description of each coin through statute.
Items were cheap to buy 60 years ago, but the country was then entering the Great Depression. Many people couldn't afford to buy gasoline at that price, and there weren't as many cars anyway. Probably, few people would want to return to those days.
Nursing care coverage
Q: What are the best long-term care insurance companies which pay the cost of a custodial nursing home or in-home care? Approximately what are the premiums? I am a 69-year-old male in good health.
A: Well over a hundred insurance companies sell the type of policy you describe. You should look for a policy with the features you want from a company rated A+ or A by A.M. Best & Co.
You are obviously already aware you must have a policy that will pay for in-home and custodial nursing home care. Some policies cover only skilled nursing home care, which few people ever need or use long term.
Make sure that the payout doesn't depend on being hospitalized prior to entering a nursing home. You also want assurance in writing that the policy will cover Alzheimer's disease and other organically based mental conditions.
The company should guarantee renewal of the policy for life and should allow you to increase your benefits according to the rate of inflation.
Ask yourself whether you need a policy at all. You should have assets at a level worth insuring - $50,000 in savings would be a minimum. If you have less, the cost is too high and you should let Medicaid pick up the bills.
The older you are, the more coverage costs, assuming you are insurable. You can virtually design your own policy according to three variables.
Don Feick of the Roanoke office of John Hancock Mutual Life said you can choose a benefit ranging from $20 to $100 a day for in-home care. That base doubles for nursing home care.
You can elect a waiting period ranging from 20 to 100 days before payout of the benefit begins.
The time period over which payments are made ranges from three to six years.
Feick ran several options for a 69-year-old male. All are based on a benefit of $35 a day for home health care and $70 a day for nursing home care. The latter is the current typical charge in Roanoke.
If you choose coverage for three years, you would pay $1,113.52 for a 20-day waiting period or $896.47 for a 100-day wait. If you select coverage for six years, you would pay $1,130.57 a year for a 100-day wait.
Feick said the cost rises dramatically as people move up in their 60s. A 58-year-old woman, for instance, would pay only $445.80 a year for an $80 nursing home benefit over six years after a 100-day wait.
He said some older people buy an annuity that pays the premiums. A single payment of $9,747.97 would pay the costs to age 99, when you would otherwise have spent $33,917 on premiums. If you die before the premiums equal the annuity payment, Feick said, the difference would be paid to your heirs.
by CNB