Dump the penny! (1 Viewer)

[Iriemon]

And the nickel too.

I saw a news blurb on the elevator that the Govt produced 7.7 billion pennies in 2005. And recentely I read that the copper in a penny is now worth more than one cent. Which means that it costs over $77 million in copper alone to produce pennies, and when you add in the costs of production, distribution, counting, storing, etc. etc. I'd guess the costs of these worthless things is well over $100 million.

I say worthless because, aren't they? Can you buy anything for a penny these days? When I was a kid you could by a small gumball with a penny, but I don't think you can buy anything commercially for sale for a penny any more. And there's not much for sale for a nickel that would cause great harm to charge a dime.

According to the inflation figures used by the BEA, prices have increased more than 10 fold since the 1940s. Which means a penny today is worth less than 1/10 of what it was worth then.

Do we really need pennies? Or nickels, for that matter? Does anyone really care if you didn't get 4 cents change? Or even 9 cents? Do pennies accomplish anything really except add to the pile of coins rattling in your pocket? Why do we need 'em? Get rid of them! $100+ million is not a huge sum in the big scheme of things, but the Govt could put the money to better use. Things will be priced in the future in tenths of a dollar, which will work just fine and save a lot of worthless hassle.

The only drawback to ditching the penny and nickel is that they portray two of our better loved presidents, Lincoln and Jefferson. Lincoln is on the $5 bill, so he's covered there. Jefferson is on a $2 bill, but who ever uses those? I propose putting Jefferson on the $10, putting Hamilton on the $50, and just forget about Grant. He was a decent general in the civil war but a lousy president, we don't really need to enshrine him on one of our bills, IMO.

 

[talloulou]

I like pennies. They get dumped in charity boxes alot and it adds up. Plus pennies are a great way to save money for kids. Keep tossing pennies in a jar and in a few years you'll have a nice hunk of change. Especially now that they have those coin star machines and you don't even have to roll the change yourself. If it really does cost more to make a penny than a penny is worth then they should change how pennies are made but I don't think they should disappear.

 

[Spartacus FPV]

A penny for the guy?

No really, change will be eliminated when all transactions are electronic.

 

[Kandahar]

I like pennies. They get dumped in charity boxes alot and it adds up. Plus pennies are a great way to save money for kids. Keep tossing pennies in a jar and in a few years you'll have a nice hunk of change.

The government could just give kids the money that it spends making pennies. And really, you WON'T have a nice hunk of change even if you save for a long time. Even if you collect 10,000 of them you'll only have $100.

Especially now that they have those coin star machines and you don't even have to roll the change yourself.

Even those machines are generally a big hassle for the 50 cents that a roll of pennies is worth.

If it really does cost more to make a penny than a penny is worth then they should change how pennies are made but I don't think they should disappear.

It's not that easy to just change how they're made. There's no simple way to do that. Besides, there's not much you can actually spend a penny on. The only thing I can think of are those machines that DESTROY pennies and turn them into souveniers.

 

[Gardener]

Instead of doing away with pennies, why not simply revalue the dollar? Yeah, yeah, I know people don't like change (pun intended), but if 10 old dollars were worth one new dollar, then the penny would be worth something and the problem would be solved without having to do away with the basic unit of coin. Now, usually countries do something like this in times of hyperinflation, but I don't see why we coulnd't do it today.

 

[Kandahar]

Instead of doing away with pennies, why not simply revalue the dollar? Yeah, yeah, I know people don't like change (pun intended), but if 10 old dollars were worth one new dollar, then the penny would be worth something and the problem would be solved without having to do away with the basic unit of coin. Now, usually countries do something like this in times of hyperinflation, but I don't see why we coulnd't do it today.

Because it would be easier and less confusing to simply stop making pennies.

 

[talloulou]

The government could just give kids the money that it spends making pennies. And really, you WON'T have a nice hunk of change even if you save for a long time. Even if you collect 10,000 of them you'll only have $100.

I don't trust the government to give....the money ends up being eaten by bureaucracy! There are so many stores that have charity tins out and so many people dump their so called "useless change" in those tins mostly in the form of pennies, nickels, and dimes. Even McDonalds has a container at their drive up window. So many people dump that useless change rather than pocket it. That helps make McDonalds House a great charity! All those pennies and nickels add up! Someone should ask the Salvation Army how much money is made from people tossing pennies and nickels in those red kettles every Christmas! I bet it's huge! People just aren't as likely to dump bills and quarters as they are to toss their pennies, nickels, and dimes. When schools have kids donate change for charities the donation from chump change can be huge. $2.00 in pennies from one kid isn't such a big deal but you get a whole school bringing in all their pennies from home and once added up it makes a nice charitable check. If we dump the pennies charities will loose out! :roll:

 

[Loxd4]

Because it would be easier and less confusing to simply stop making pennies.

Dont worry i see a world where there's no paper money or cash in anyway besides Credit Cards.....

 

[Iriemon]

I don't trust the government to give....the money ends up being eaten by bureaucracy! There are so many stores that have charity tins out and so many people dump their so called "useless change" in those tins mostly in the form or pennies, nickels, and dimes. Even McDonalds has a container at their drive up window. So many people dump that useless change rather than pocket it. That helps make McDonalds House a great charity! All those pennies and nickels add up! When schools have kids donate change for charities the donation from chump change can be huge. $2.00 in pennies from one kid isn't such a big deal but you get a whole school bringing in all their pennies from home and once added up it makes a nice charitable check. If we dump the pennies charities will loose out! :roll:

If we don't have pennies, people will give and collect dimes instead.

 

[Jerry]

A penny for the guy?

No really, change will be eliminated when all transactions are electronic.

Dont worry i see a world where there's no paper money or cash in anyway besides Credit Cards.....

First Smart Cards, then implantable chips 1. 2.

See also Cashless Society or Digital Cash? and, lest we forget,
Revelation 13:16-17;
16 He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, 17 so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.

 

[Spartacus FPV]

First Smart Cards, then implantable chips

Smart cards I am fine with. It combines the ID and credit card with your social security #. Implant chips will never fly...

 

[faithful_servant]

If you want to make a real impact on currency costs, stop printing dollar bills and go to the dollar coin exclusively. Dollar bills have an average "lifespan" of several months, while the coins can be expected to last years. Plus, you avoid having people hang you up in the self serve lines trying to feed worn out dollar bills into a bill machine.

 

[Kandahar]

If you want to make a real impact on currency costs, stop printing dollar bills and go to the dollar coin exclusively. Dollar bills have an average "lifespan" of several months, while the coins can be expected to last years. Plus, you avoid having people hang you up in the self serve lines trying to feed worn out dollar bills into a bill machine.

Paper money is so much easier to carry around than coins.

 

[Iriemon]

Paper money is so much easier to carry around than coins.

I don't know about that. If I had to stuff another 15 bills in my wallet to account for 87 cents, I'll need a new butt.

 

[faithful_servant]

Paper money is so much easier to carry around than coins.

http://jscms.jrn.columbia.edu/cns/2005-12-13/rabinovitch-goldendollar

the U.S. government would save an estimated $500 million a year from the cost efficiency of coin over paper

Half a billion dollars annually is definitely worth a little inconvenience.

 

[Lantzolot]

yeh, that way stores couldnt post annoying prices like 6.97 instead of 7.00 or 6.90. Or i think we should just do away with coins and currency all together and everyone use debit cards and checks and learn not to overdraft.

 

[Spartacus FPV]

yeh, that way stores couldnt post annoying prices like 6.97 instead of 7.00 or 6.90. Or i think we should just do away with coins and currency all together and everyone use debit cards and checks and learn not to overdraft.

As nice as it would be to have prices nice and rounded, I already pay with my check card and dont deal with chance, and also I am very against taking away a merchant's power to set prices.

Everyone should use checking but no one should be made to use it. I just do it because I like the idea that no amount of force (short of a warrant) can permit a looter to touch my money.

 

[Captain America]

Melt 'em down and sell 'em for scrap. They're worth more that way aren't they? :mrgreen:

I can honestly say that I rarely ever have over 20 bucks in my pocket. My debit card does most of my buying and I haven't written a check in over a year because I pay all my bills online these days.

Cash money, both paper and coin is almost obsolete in my world.

But I do throw all my coinage into a big bucket all year long. That pays for 100% of my deer season hunt with money left over!

 

[remington1_2006]

Keep in mind that "dumping the penny" would hurt our economy. I don't have the time to do econ 202, so I'll put it in simple terms. The U.S. economy is based on spending, if the US citizen didn't spend the economy would die. Now, you're thinking how does ditching the penny hurt the economy? Well, the american people don't like to buy expensive products, for example a $10 item for most people is too much, however $9.99 makes people want to buy. This is a psychological advertisement. Trust me if you have taken business, or econ you would know that the American people need the penny, even if it is worthless.

 

[TexWolverine]

The penny has done me no wrong. To make a long story short....

My great-aunt from Arkansas died a few years ago. My cousin and I were the only surviving kin and she left everything to us, to be divided equally. Since he lives in Arkansas, he kept the house and land and I got everthing else. I knew she and my uncle saved
their change, but I had no idea what lay ahead.

In the end there was over $20,000 in coins (face value) to be found. They were everywhere. Inside of jars, vases, nicknacks, you name it. I found them in the garage and the root cellar,too. About half of the coins were pennies, and many of the coins (pennies included) were worth much more than face value.

I love pennies!:twocents:

 

[Kandahar]

Keep in mind that "dumping the penny" would hurt our economy. I don't have the time to do econ 202, so I'll put it in simple terms. The U.S. economy is based on spending, if the US citizen didn't spend the economy would die. Now, you're thinking how does ditching the penny hurt the economy? Well, the american people don't like to buy expensive products, for example a $10 item for most people is too much, however $9.99 makes people want to buy. This is a psychological advertisement. Trust me if you have taken business, or econ you would know that the American people need the penny, even if it is worthless.

If advertisers believe that people won't buy a $10 product, they could still sell it for $9.95 or $9.90 without the penny.

 

[Kandahar]

http://jscms.jrn.columbia.edu/cns/2005-12-13/rabinovitch-goldendollar

Half a billion dollars annually is definitely worth a little inconvenience.

It seems to me that carrying around a lot of coins would be a MAJOR inconvenience for most people...Maybe not so much for women since they have purses, but I think that many men (myself included) would simply stop carrying more than a minimal amount of money if it was all in coins.

Half a billion dollars is chump change in government terms. While I'm all for cutting government expenses wherever we can, I think paper money is worth the slight additional cost.

 

[remington1_2006]

If advertisers believe that people won't buy a $10 product, they could still sell it for $9.95 or $9.90 without the penny.

Well, that is true, however 9.95 or items of the sort doesn't maxize business profit. As well as the .95 is an odd number, which most people don't like as much as .99.

 

[Patrickt]

It would be a simple matter for things to cost $10 or $1 or whatever in round numbers except for one thing...sales tax. Honestly, the only time you go scrounging for pennies is for sales tax.

Now why do I have the feeling that if we do away with the penny, all fractions will be rounded up to the next highest amount? Doing away with the penny would be a windfall, in the aggregate, to the government in more sales tax collections. Instead of $1.11 cents it would be #1.15.