Should the U.S. kill the penny?

[jeff of pa]

[h=2]Canada is dropping the use of its penny today. And some economists believe the United States should be following its neighbor's example.[/h]
The U.S. Mint spent 2 cents to produce and ship each of the 5.8 billion pennies sent to banks last year. But in addition to being a money loser for the Treasury, there are arguments that the penny has simply outlived its usefulness.

Greg Mankiw, Chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers under President Bush, said American consumers have shown they don't value the penny, even if most polls show opposition to getting rid of the coin.
"When people start leaving a monetary unit at the cash register for the next customer, the unit is too small to be useful," he said.

I Don't leave them at the register for the next customer

Should the U.S. kill the penny? - Feb. 4, 2013

 

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[dimedigger]

should have been done 30 years ago. and also make gas an even number 3:15 not 3:14 9/10. look at the money that would be saved if all the pumps didn't have to have that extra dial

 

[nsdq]

i still use pennies to pay for gas

 

[Moonrover]

should have been done 30 years ago. and also make gas an even number 3:15 not 3:14 9/10. look at the money that would be saved if all the pumps didn't have to have that extra dial

For sure! What's up with that 9/10ths gag anyway? Another peeve I have is the universal practice of pricing stuff at $3.99 instead of $4 ? A long time ago I read a story that claimed the old store owners wanted to hear the cash register clang so they priced stuff to prevent the clerks from just pocketing the $4 without going to the register to open it for change. So goes the story anyway. A crafty crooked clerk could simply have a pocket full of change to do the transaction anyway.

I think the real reasoning for the 99 cent thing is that somehow it looks a whole lot less than pricing at $1. I'm not fooled, and neither are you, but maybe the rest of the population is brain dead.

M

 

[jeff of pa]

I think the real reasoning for the 99 cent thing is that somehow it looks a whole lot less than pricing at $1. I'm not fooled, and neither are you, but maybe the rest of the population is brain dead.

M

yes this is the reason, Like gas priced at $3.899
people will think they paid $3.89 for gas
when in fact they paid $3.90

 

[WVARelics]

Yes the US should get rid of the penny but they won't because it makes sense to us but not to the politicians.

 

[mamabear]

what about local taxes? if it is 7cents, would it be rounded up to a dime? You know they wouldn't go down to a nickle

 

[dimedigger]

i would go down a nickle if the goverment would stay out of my business

 

[jeff of pa]

what about local taxes? if it is 7cents, would it be rounded up to a dime? You know they wouldn't go down to a nickle

everything tax related would be set up to add up to .08, .09 or .10

 

[Peyton Manning]

if pennies are killed, everyone send theirs to me ok?

 

[pong12211]

In my opinion alt of things would need to change if this was done.. But if it helps cut government costs and can be done I say go ahead and do it.

 

[Jason in Enid]

The treasury should have killed the 1 cent coin 50 years ago. It's almost worthless in today's economy. 100 years ago, a penny actually had some buying power. I can't think anything you can buy for less than 10 cents. We used to have coins worth up to $20, which was equal to an entire week's wages for most workers. Can you imagine a $250 coin? And yet we still have these 1 cent coins which most people won't even pick up off the ground if they see it.

 

[Peyton Manning]

i saw on tv (so it has to be true) that it costs more than 1 cent to make a penny

 

[Jason in Enid]

It costs something like 1.88 cents to mint a penny, and that is with the crappy copper coated zinc.

Edit - I just looked this up.

For the fiscal year ending September 30, 2012, the unit cost for the Mint to produce and distribute the cent was 2.00 cents and the unit cost for the nickel was 10.09 cents. This compares to costs from the prior fiscal year of 2.41 cents and 11.18 cents, respectively.

 

[Beans]

should have been done 30 years ago. and also make gas an even number 3:15 not 3:14 9/10. look at the money that would be saved if all the pumps didn't have to have that extra dial

That 1/10 of a cent adds up. Gas companies and stores make some good extra money. When was the last time you recieved your 1/10 cent in change after buying a gallon of gas.

 

[Keppy]

WELL I GUESS IF CANADA CAN MAKE IT WORK WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO....... CANADA WAS SMART AND GOT RID OF THE DOLLAR BILL MADE IT WORK......... WE TRIED TO PUT OUT A DOLLAR COIN BUT THERE ARE SO MANY HORDERS & COLLECTORS OUT THERE THEY NEVER HIT THE STREET.............. I GOT A ROLL OR 2 EVERY PAY DAY AND SPENT THEM NEVER GOT ONE BACK IN CHANGE TO MANY PEOPLE COLLECT ANYTHING .... IF THEY MADE THEM OUT OF DOG CRAP THE COLLECTORS WOULD BE HORDING THEM AWAY...........

 

[paratrooper]

For those of us that are "long in the tooth", remember the mill? 1/10 of a penny.

 

[hikerdude]

Yeah, lets give the penny the boot. I'm on my second gallon jug full of the zinc's, and I just started detecting 10 months ago. They are trash and look ugly and are giving the old copper pennies a bad name. I don't care about the government saving money, they will just spend that saved money on some free money giveaway program anyway.
HH

 

[jeff of pa]

i still use pennies to pay for gas

I still pick them up when I see them laying around,
if a teller asks do I want the Penny, My answer is a serious YES !
I don't care if it's wedged in something, laying in mud, grease or worse,
If I can get at it, it's mine.

Heck, I've dug 5" easy for rotted zinclons, & they always come home with me

100 of them make a dollar.
in bad times 389 of them will get me a gallon of gas & 15 miles down the road
in my Jimmy

jeff-gordon

if pennies are killed, everyone send theirs to me ok?

You can start sending them to me now if you don't want them

 

[bevo]

When you own your company those pennies add up.Think about it.