1) long term does it make more sense to punish the people spending the BTC.
Is $0.25 really a "punishment"?
2) long term does it make more sense to punish the merchants who receive the BTC.
The only way this could work is have the money deducted from the payment. Now merchants have to charge 0.01 btc more (0.005 in the future).
In my humble opinion serious consideration should be taken to that question. Most merchants are used to paying fees to accept money, thats how all credit card processing companies work right now.
Actually, I would love for the CUSTOMER to pay the fees. If i pay cash, and the merchant doens't have to pay fees, why should i pay extra?
It can also be said that customers are used to paying fees to spend money. But I tell you, my personal feeling on this subject which I'm sure many of you can also share with me...
paying fees at atms and credit cards = its a fucking rip off, I hate it. I only do it because I have no other option and i forgot to get cash out of the bank.
You're already spending money when you're buying something. is 0.01 really going to make a big difference?