Should We Pitch The Penny?
So what do you think? Should we pitch the penny? Not pinch it....cause most of us are doing that already. I mean should we stop making pennies in America? Should we do it to save some money on production? Should we do it because counters, cup holders in cars and piggy banks get stuffed with them? I got to think about this after seeing a story at http://www.foxnews.com from Reuters about how the Canadians are getting rid of their pennies. They will no longer be producing pennies.
Here is the article:
Canada will withdraw the penny from circulation this year because it costs more to produce than its face value, the government announced Thursday. "Pennies take up too much space on our dressers at home. They take up far too much time for small businesses trying to grow and create jobs. It costs taxpayers a penny-and-a-half every time we make one," Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told AFP. "We will, therefore, stop making them." The Royal Canadian Mint will cease distribution of pennies in late 2012, AFP reports. The penny reportedly retained only a 20th of its original purchasing power, Reuters reports. The Canadian government will save around $11 million a year by withdrawing the one-cent coins from circulation.
"Financial institutions face increasing costs for handling, storing and transporting pennies. Over time, the penny's burden to the economy has grown relative to its value as a means of payment," the government said in a budget document cited by Reuters. The penny can continue to be used in payments, but as they are gradually removed from circulation, prices for cash will be rounded up or down to the closest five cents, Reuters reports.
So what do you think? I think we should keep the penny even though they are kind of annoying. I mean a hundred pennies is a buck, and let's face it, how far will a buck really go in today's world? You can buy a shower liner at the dollar store, a can of chili, some make up, and tons of roles of duct tape for a buck, but would you pay for your purchase with a bunch of pennies? Nah, nobody goes up to the counter with a bunch of pennies trying to pay for a bunch of stuff, at least, most people don't.
So here is what it says at the site for the U.S. Mint:
Cost of Producing the Penny, Nickel, Dime, Quarter, Half-dollar and Golden Dollar Coins.
| Golden Dollar | Half Dollar | Quarter | Dime | Nickel | Penny |
| 21.14 cents | 16.97 cents | 7.33 cents | 3.14 cents | 4.56 cents | .93 cents |
(United States Mint, 2004 Annual Report, pg. 45)
So according to their website, in 2004 it cost 93 cents to make a penny, but with the price of the ingredients of a penny always fluctuating as snopes.com will point out. Snopes reports that in 2006 it cost a one dollar and 26 cents to make a penny. On that front, I think we should stop making pennies, or at least make them cheaper. What about a penny made out of a pebble? Ha, but how would we stamp them? Would we etch them? I just wonder what would work and be cost effective? Also, what can you use a penny for anymore? I don't even know of any shops that sell penny candy!
I say get rid of all those one dollar coins that nobody in America uses anyway which cost about 21 cents to make, and make pennies. You know why I think we need to keep pennies? It silly, but I just love the fact that you can keep saving them, that from something small can come something big, I mean, hey 1.000 pennies equals ten bucks, and let's face it, ten bucks is a lot of money today. For ten bucks you can get about 2.6 gallons of gas, a basket full of apples, and at least two good cigars. (Check out this chart for more)
So, to sum it up, hahahhaha, no pun intended.....I love the penny. Let's just keep the penny, cause everybody always wants your last dime ( ten pennies ), they want to put in their two cents ( you need those two pennies to rub together ) and some folks will even give you a quarter "to call someone who cares"! I am keeping my pennies. I just want the government and everyone else to keep their paws off!
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