Businesses understand producing more of a product than customers want is a money-losing proposition. But that doesn't worry the government, which ignores the law of supply and demand regularly. Why worry about wasting taxpayers' money, after all?
President Barack Obama is seeking, on a small scale for Washington, to change that at the Treasury Department. Bravo!
In 2005, Congress mandated the agency produce $1 coins featuring the likenesses of all U.S. presidents. The idea didn't appeal to consumers, who use fewer than half the 70 million-80 million coins produced each year. The rest are returned to the Treasury, where they are stored.
Obama is ordering nearly all production of the coins cease. Only as many as collectors want will be minted in the future.
That will save the government about $50 million a year in production and storage costs.
Congress should go the next step, and cancel the wasteful program altogether.
