10 reasons why we should keep the penny
30.12.2020, , 0
Silver Chips Online is the award-winning online newspaper published by students from Montgomery That doesnt sound like much, but a 2019 Federal Reserve study shows that the average consumer still makes 11 cash transactions each month and according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are over 343 million consumers in the country. Pennies are made of zinc and copper, and zinc can be harmful: Zinc mining and industrial use has negative environmental and health impacts. Representative Jim Kolbe of Arizona introduced bills in 1989, 2001 and 2006 to abolish the penny, but none of the bills passed. ", U.S. Census Bureau. That's why last December, Congress directed the United States Mint to nd ways to produce our coins more cost-effectively. The melt value of pennies ranges from more than two cents for thepre-1982 copper pennies, to nearly a full cent for the copper-plated zinc pennies. 1 Its grown that large due to government spending programs that help boost the economy. In theory, a single penny could be used for hundreds or thousands of transactions before it drops out of circulation. Whatever the reason, I think it's clear that no matter how you add it up, it just makes more sense to get rid of the penny. In 1990, Congress estimated that this rounding would cost the American public an upwards of $600 million every year. The best and easiest choice is to keep America's most beloved coin in production. Shopkeepers would have to either change the prices on all of the items in their inventories or reprogram registers to round automatically when an item is charged. One problem with this argument, according to penny proponents, is that if there were no pennies, the Mint would have to produce more nickels. A nonpartisan organization called Citizens to Retire the U.S. Penny has attracted the support of economists from Harvard and Wake Forest University. Most Americans probably dont even realize that for more than 30 years, their pennies have been 97.5 percent zinc, with a thin copper plating to give them the illusion of being red cents with high copper content. So why don't we get rid of the penny for good? As both stores and individuals stop keeping pennies on hand, banks wont need to supply as many. Their rose-shaped candles, Blush Candles, are starting to get attention abroad. Some are opposed to change, and others are attached to the penny for sentimental reasons. Management decided that losing a cent or two on most transactions was better than having long lines of customers waiting for change. Get DIY project ideas and easy-to-follow crafts to help you spruce up your space. Feel more energized 2. Amy Livingston is a freelance writer who can actually answer yes to the question, "And from that you make a living?" Abraham Lincoln has adorned the coin for 95 years. By | January 18, 2022. hardwood plywood home depot . if we get rid of the penny, store owners, and merchants will have to round UP to the nickel, forcing the buyer to pay MORE! Economist Henry Aaron of the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit research group, reminisces in a 2013 anti-penny screed about paying a nickel for an ice cream cone as a boy. Susan also belongs to the American Numismatic Society (ANS) and CONECA (error and variety coins club). Pennies are so close to worthless that many people argue its time to do away with them altogether. It costs 1.4 cents to manufacture a penny, meaning that we are losing money by producing pennies. They sell a single rose candle for $9 6 rose candles for $48. The bills, according to the Federal Reserve, cost only $0.155 to print, far less than their $5 face value. Warning: "continue" targeting switch is equivalent to "break".Did you mean to use "continue 2"? To begin with, what happens if you go to the 5 and 10 or something and you need to pay the cashier 27 cents. Pro-Penny Arguments Those who think we should keep the U.S. penny cite the following arguments to support their position: Prices will increase - If we eliminate the penny, everything will have to be rounded to the nickel. In 1943, pennies were made of zinc-coated steel. In the rare case you have never heard of or used a penny, it is the one cent coin in U.S. All these toxic metals can contaminate water, soil, and plants in the area surrounding the mine. Reuters, "Pennies: The Throwaway Coins We Can't Let Go Of," latimes.com, May 31, 1994: 11. Abolishing the penny would not save the government money. The only reason why we should want to go back in time is to repeat the fun parts. Citizens to Retire the U.S. Penny cites a study done by Walgreens and the National Association of Convenience Stores showing that handling pennies adds an average of two seconds to each cash transaction. 2023 Money Crashers, LLC. All pennies are worth money, but some have become collectible. Aside from its Lincoln portrait, though, it has undergone a number of major changes in design and composition. "2021 Annual Report," Page 13. Americans for Common Cents: The Penny's Importance For Charity, Foldvary Says Keep the Penny; Dump the Sales Tax, US Mint Cost to Produce the Penny and Nickel, Americans for Common Cents: Support for the Penny. Answer (1 of 12): This is probably not the kind of answer you are seeking, but it brings to mind something written by Carl Sandburg, which I will share. All Rights Reserved. "Retirement." If we eliminate the penny that makes it necessary to manufacture more nickels. During an address to the House of Representatives in 1996, officials stated that pennies cost less to make than their worth, so the Treasury earns about $40 million each year from penny profits. In fact, it costs almost a dime to make a nickel today. Languages That Start With C, We should be keeping the penny! In 2009, four different cents were issued with images representing key segments of Lincolns life. Hardly anyone uses them anymore. The composition of the coins consisted of an outer shell made out of 75% copper and 25% nickel bonded to a core of pure copper. However, it is removed from circulation when tendered at a Canadian banking facility. Of course, spending $0.018 to make a coin thats worth only $0.01 isnt necessarily a bad idea because coins are reusable. However, while many people are calling for the pennys retirement, others are working just as hard to keep the coin in circulation. Penny supporters point out that if we get rid of the penny, all-cash transactions will have to be rounded off to the nearest nickel. Be able to withstand stress 5. Accessed Oct. 21, 2020. Sign up for more easy craft ideas, fun hobbies, and DIY projects, Lincoln Wheat Penny Key Dates, Rarities and Varieties. Another piece of evidence against Lombras claims comes from Canada, which stopped minting its penny in 2013. Some things become so predictable. The answer 'this is extra' make us angry. Getting rid of the coin would be getting rid of an item that pays homage to one of the greatest former leader of this country. Most Americans want to keep the penny. Pennies are worth so little now that by taking five seconds to pick one up, youre earning just $7.20 an hour less than the federal minimum wage. Share. Congress puts a limit on the debt, which is known as the debt ceiling. Its also illegal to melt pennies. "Eliminating the Penny From the U.S. Coinage System: An Economic Analysis," Page 433. Aaron notes in his Brookings Institution editorial that eliminating both pennies and nickels would round off all cash transactions to the nearest $0.10, making for easier math and less stuff in our pockets.. Purchases totaling $4.98 or $4.99, for example, would be rounded up to Lots of reasons to keep the penny!! Learn how to keep it safe. For one thing, it made the experience feel more precious. When extra money is asked after we spent a lot on the ticket, we experience frustration. If the penny is abolished, all prices will have to be rounded to the nearest five cents. Picking up that found penny is not worth your time; the effort required returns less than what you'd earn making the minimum wage ($7.25 an hour). However, the fact that this poll was conducted by a pro-penny group suggests that the questions might be somewhat biased toward the pro-penny side. If you want to skip our detailed analysis of these stocks, go directly to the 5 Best Penny Stocks to Buy Now. Even automatic toll booths wont take them except in Illinois, the home state of President Abraham Lincoln, whose face adorns the coin. The U.S. One Cent coin, or penny, has almost no purchasing power today. References to products, offers, and rates from third party sites often change. Four decades ago, the Mint made more than 1.5 million prototype aluminum cents during a similar crisis, with every expectation they would soon see use in circulation. A penny costs nearly 2 cents to make, a nickel nearly 8 cents. A 2019 poll by Americans for Common Cents found even stronger numbers in favor of pennies, saying 68% of adults want to see the penny remain legal tender. MDMA-Assisted Therapy: Can It Help Treat Anorexia. The Mint accidentally made 40 copper pennies, which have become highly sought-after collectibles. June 21, 2022. beijing time zone abbreviation. Numerous Americans are in favor of keeping it due to sentimental value, while others say it is just too costly. And just five years after that, in 1864, the government changed the coins content again this time to bronze, an alloy of copper, tin and zinc and slenderized it further to 3.11 grams, a weight that remained unchanged until 1982. Caulipower Cauliflower Tortillas, Based on this data, Whaples concluded that after sales taxes and fees, consumers would come out slightly ahead on average with prices rounded off to the nickel. The folks who want to retire the penny also have some compelling arguments, including those below. Thus, it couldnt affect government expenditures or trigger widespread inflation. But, by the 1850s, the government faced much the same dilemma as today: The price of copper had risen, making cents too costly to produce. Back in 1940, and even much after that, we got along just fine without coins that bought as little as pennies and nickels do today. In Aarons vision, the Lincoln on Pennies The face of Abraham Lincoln on the copper cent seems well and proper. According to Americans for Common Cents, this will lead to a rounding tax. In other words, stores will deliberately manipulate their prices to ensure transactions are always rounded up instead of down. We have a lot of holidays: Christmas, Easter, 18 of November, autumn and spring holidays, of course Summer holidays. Moreover, the classes give your body a unique workout. Oh, Alaska you big, beautiful, burly beast of a state. Pennies are so hard to spend that many people dont even bother they just store them all in jars, or even throw them away. These arguments arent based on logic which, ironically, makes them much harder to counter. While we do our best to keep these updated, numbers stated on this site may differ from actual numbers. When we keep things in a biblical balancepeople first, creation secondincreasingly better stewardship should follow. On its website, the group marshals an array of arguments that eliminating the penny would lead to disaster for consumers, charities, the government, and the economy as a whole. In effect, eliminating the penny means all retail prices would end in zero or five. "FAQs: How Issuers Work with DTC." Whats less clear is why Americans are so committed to a coin with so little monetary value. First, consumers benefit with a low denomination coin. But since then, the cost of zinc has risen dramatically and thats a big reason the cost of making cents is now over the top. Raymond E. Lombra. She'd like to close with a quote from "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" that is especially profound (and makes reference to her ultimate favorite , LoveSCOpe: finding the perfect pairs at Blair, MCPS holds second forum about the fentanyl crisis gripping the county at Northwood HS, Two milligrams: The rising fentanyl crisis across Montgomery County, Opioid presentations next Monday and Tuesday, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey is un-bear-able. It doesnt matter. Without the penny, the U. S. Mint would produce more nickels. While most Lincoln Memorial pennies are worth only face value (or a little more), there are a few rare Lincoln Memorial pennies you should be keeping your eye out for. In June of this year, New York Times op-ed columnist William Safire wrote an article calling for the elimination of the penny. A few people groused about it, but commerce continued unabated. But whether or not you believe picking up that penny will bring you luck, one thing it definitely wont bring you is wealth. More recently, a 2017 paper by economist Robert Shapiro estimated that each penny only gets used around twice per year, or 55 times over its lifespan. 8 Reasons to Keep It vs Eliminate It," moneycrashers.com (accessed July 2, 2018) 12. Some of the arguments for keeping the penny are practical ones. If consumers in 1857 could get along without halfpennies, then modern consumers can almost certainly manage without a coin thats worth less than one-tenth as much. The COVID-19 pandemic could accelerate this trend. give me one good reason to get rid of it! Increase lean body mass You can give them a dime but then you would need change. Some supporters of the penny point out that its the only coin bearing the image of Abraham Lincoln, probably our nations most revered president. 10 reasons why we should keep the penny. All rights reserved. Please ensure that all comments are mature and responsible; they will go through moderation. We may have financial relationships with some of the companies mentioned on this website. "On the 'Future of Money: Dollars and Sense', Page 3. The change from brass, the previous composition, took place in 1982 as a cost-cutting measure because zinc was much cheaper than copper. Many Americans think the penny is putting our country in jeopardy with financial losses. Additionally, the United States Mint changed the silver composition and weight of many coins due to the increasing price of silver. The cent has served the nation well since then, and many Americans view it with affection a sentiment that has grown even stronger since the coin began featuring the likeness of Abraham Lincoln in 1909. The impact of the loss of the penny on price flexibility depends on its implementation. To anti-penny advocates, thats a lot of costs for a coin that cant even buy a piece of gum anymore. Why America should keep the penny? In 1856, the weight was further reduced to 2.49 g. In 1873, the weight was increased to 2.50 g where it remained until silver was eliminated from all coins in 1965. We may have financial relationships with some of the companies mentioned on this website. Growing up, they said that they always received a bouquet of fresh roses on special occasions such as birthdays, Chan Hon Goh is a former prima ballerina. This material cost does not include the labor and distribution cost which could be worth up to two more cents per penny. Will a suitable substitute be found? By the way, the belief that metal could bring good luck might be part of the reason why horseshoes are also considered lucky, as mentioned above. Without the penny, the U. S. Mint would produce more nickels. Each year, the U.S. government loses money on the production of the penny. The emergence of Bitcoin, Etherium, and other cryptocurrencies has also been cited as a growing reason for the decline of the penny. If we were to get rid of the penny, cash transactions would be rounded to the nearest nickel. At the direction of Congress, the Mint has been studying potential new compositions that would make the coin cheaper to produce and save the denomination from the scrap heap. With this question, students were required to state their opinion and then give three facts to support that opinion. Implantation Exercise, Prices that end in 99 cents are common, and penny proponents have argued that eliminating pennies would amount to a one-cent sales tax. It looks like nothing was found at this location. The Lincoln Memorial penny was made from 1959 to 2008. What Is a Financial Statement Restatement? However, this only works if the coins actually do circulate and pennies, as noted above, often dont. Charities such as the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and Ronald McDonald House raise funds through penny drives, encouraging people to donate their unwanted pennies for important causes. According to an old superstition, its good luck to find a penny on the sidewalk. If there were no pennies, stores and restaurants would round up to the nearest nickel. All of this numismatic change took place without any significant problems. Most Americans want to keep the penny. Among other things, we may receive free products, services, and/or monetary compensation in exchange for featured placement of sponsored products or services. Because it is a science, learning chemistry means learning how to be objective and how to reason and solve problems. The content on Money Crashers is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as professional financial advice. Back in 1909, when the penny was introduced for the centennial of Lincolns birth, it was made with 95% copper. "Trade in Goods With China. For this list, we are only including small cents: Flying Eagle Cents, Indian Head Pennies, Lincoln Wheat Pennies, Lincoln Memorial Cents, and Lincoln Shield Cents. Grace Harter. Gravity and inertia combine to neatly drop a penny (or a stack of pennies) into a glass. A poll by Yougov.com found that 51% of Americans were in favor of keeping it. ", The Balance uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Here's a rundown of values for the scarcer Indian pennies:1861: $231864 with L (for James B. Theyre so hard to use that they end up stuffed in jars or abandoned on sidewalks. Whatever the rationale, 58 percent of men and 73 percent of women wanted to keep the penny in 2006, according to a Coinstar poll. Thats why the ultimate answer to environmental issues isnt more laws, bigger fines, or more power to the government. 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10 reasons why we should keep the penny