10 reasons why we should keep the penny 10 reasons why we should keep the penny

Consider the con arguments from NPRs Planet Money reporter Greg Rosalsky. Learn how to protect yourself when the bank takes your car. The official name for the US penny is one-cent piece, according to the US Department of the Treasury, but early Americans were allegedly in the habit of using the British term penny. [4][35], 4. Making pennies wastes natural resources and is toxic to people and the environment - Pennies are 3 percent copper, and 97 percent zinc and are primarily made from virgin ore. Making pennies from . However, it would hit low-income Americans especially hard. The less a person makes the more the saying "every penny counts" rings true. TOP 10 10 reasons why we should keep the penny BEST and NEWEST Time to Ditch the Penny; It Is Useless and Bad for the Environment 4. Pennies are basically worth pennies today, and they consume vast quantities of natural resources to produce. Is It Time To Kill The Penny? : Planet Money : NPR In 2006, New Zealand eliminated the nickel, and while they were at it, they significantly shrunk down the rest of the coins. ProCon/Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. The reason why is obvious. Also the United States loses 1.8 cents for every penny being made. In addition, zinc is toxic in high doses and small amounts can contaminate water and soil in the area surrounding ore roll producing pennies. [12], Organizations such as the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the Salvation Army, and the Ronald McDonald House ask people to donate pennies to raise funds. I personally think that we should keep pennies for these reasons. Since the penny costs 0.26 more than face value to When the Baby Boomers were young, a penny still had some value. We Won't Forget President Lincoln. In 2013, Aaron wrote an anti-penny screed pointing out that it costs more to make a penny than its face value - 1.8 cents each - and therefore it is not cost-effective. Despite what the old song says, pennies don't really come from heaven. shutterstock.com Around 8% of coppers are thrown in the bin every year. A $7.12 bill would be $7.10, so if you have that dime, you still don't have to break a dollar. ", ProCon.org. However, this only works if the coins actually do circulate and pennies, as noted above, often dont. Another significant change in U.S. coinage occurred without any catastrophic effects on commerce. The Pros And Cons Of Abolishing The Penny | ipl.org Top 3 Pros and Cons. But without its namesake coin, many of these penny points saw a significant drop-off in donations - as much as 90%, according to one group that doesn't provide further details. Pennies Argumentative Essay - 605 Words | Studymode Her areas of writing expertise include economic theory and applications, Russian culture and scuba diving. The US Mint shipped 8.4 billionpenniesfor circulation in 2017, more than all nickels (1.3 billion), dimes (2.4 billion), and quarters (1.9 billion) combined. If only cash transactions are affected, then electronic transactions will continue to deliver more sensitive data. [27], Rounding transactions to the nearest nickel instead of using pennies wouldnt harm consumers or stores. 9 " Centsible " Reasons to Get Rid of the Penny. 7 Reasons to Get Rid of the Penny | The Saturday Evening Post Item 2 (1) The saying goes, "Find a penny, pick it up. (2) All day long [5], Mark Weller, Executive Director of the pro-penny group Americans for Common Cents, says, The alternative to the penny is rounding to the nickel, and thats something that will negatively impact working families every time they buy a gallon of gas or a gallon of milk. [6], The US Federal Reserve found that minorities and low-income people are more likely to use cash than credit cards. However, overall, the Mint is a profit-making machine. If you pay with credit or debit card, it is $7.12. ], [Editors Note: The MLA citation style requires double spacing within entries. Payments made with credit, debit, or old-fashioned checks are still settled down to the cent. 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. Pennies are so close to worthless that many people argue its time to do away with them altogether. The penny, a one cent coin, costs 2.41 cents to make, which is nearly 1.5 times what it's worth (source 1). And as it grows ever easier for charities to accept donations electronically, coin drives are likely to play a diminishing role in fundraising. Despite President Abraham Lincoln's face adorning the single penny, most people don't use or even expect pennies as payment anymore. A HuffPost/YouGov poll conducted in January found that only 34 percent of Americans are in favor of eliminating the penny, while 51 . Discover what happens, how to avoid it, and what you can do if it's too late. All prices would have to be rounded to the nearest nickel. Some stores are even refusing to accept cash altogether. Although these arguments aren't based on factual evidence, there is something to be said for keeping the penny around. We should get rid of pennies because it cost less and is useless but it could be helpful, I think we should keep the penny because it is sill money, what the creep who ever wrote these are all bum hahahahaha. 22, 2006, Philip N. Diehl, "The Real Diehl: Its Time for the United States to Eliminate the One Cent Coin," coinweek.com, Jan. 28, 2015, Last Week Tonight, "Pennies: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)," YouTube.com, Nov. 22, 2015, J. William Gadsby, "Future of the Penny: Options for Congressional Consideration," gao.gov, July 16, 1996, Aaron Klein, "Time for Change: Modernizing to the Dollar Coin Saves Taxpayers Billions," dollarcoinalliance.org, July 22, 2013, Michelle Z. Donahue, "How Much Does it Really Cost (the Planet) to Make a Penny?," smithsonianmag.com, May 18, 2016, Josh Bloom, "Want to Help the Environment? It makes no 'cents': Why the United States should do away with the Currently there's no action being taken on the elimination of the penny. November 29, 2022; did jesus walk on water before or after his resurrection . 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. After 1962, pennies were no longer made of copper or bronze but instead were minted from 97.5% zinc with 2.5% copper coating. At the time it was eliminated, the useless halfpenny could buy as much as 15 pennies can today. Dominic Townsend is a successful article author based in New York City. The United States mint stopped minting pennies for general circulation after 2013 but cash transactions still make up less than 8% of all payments while credit and debit cards, as well as old-fashioned checks are used more often now than ever before according to Trading Economics. A pro-penny group funded by the zinc industry calls these claims absurd, as they argue employees would save more time spent counting change than people would necessarily spend if we got rid of them. Essay On Pennies - 584 Words | Cram To be fair, the current production cost is down from the 1.66 cents it cost in 2014, and the continuation of a years-long trend and efforts by the Mint to increase efficiency as well as . This article was published on July 2, 2018, at Britannicas ProCon.org, a nonpartisan issue-information source. The United States Mint makes over 20,000,000 pennies per day, or 7,000,000,000 pennies per year. Finally, small-change drives arent a cost-effective way for charities to raise funds. Beyond the excess millions the U.S. Mint spends to crank them out, pennies also take up the lions share of the Mints production capacity. Arguments for and Against Keeping the Penny - The Spruce Crafts This could potentially have a big impact on charitable organizations that rely heavily on donations from their supporters. Should We Make Cents? - CBS News Chicago, Illinois 60654 USA, Natalie Leppard However, he also stresses that even if prices did increase, the difference would be so tiny it couldnt possibly affect the CPI. 8 Reasons to Keep It vs Eliminate It," moneycrashers.com (accessed July 2, 2018), Rodney J. Bosco and Kevin M. Davis, "Impact of Eliminating the Penny on the United States Mint's Costs and Profit in Fiscal Year 2011," pennies.org, Apr. The Penny Should Abolish The Penny. The penny was first minted in 1857. We like to give back to our local art community by presenting presidential line of succession 2022 - A fresh look at a contemporary and traditional southwestern art work. The Penny Debate: to Keep or not to Keep - Free Essay Example - Edubirdie Those little extra costs could add up quickly. Men are nearly twice as likely as women to favor dropping the penny (39% vs. 20%). In 1857, the U.S. Mint stopped making the half-cent coin, partly because the cost of making it had exceeded its face value, and somewhat because it was considered to be too small a denomination and it was no longer needed. Opinion | Abolish the Penny - The New York Times It's the $2 bill and it's the rarest small-denomination currency in circulation, representing about 1 percent of our money. The cost of producing them is higher than face value. "Open an IRA in 15 minutes." The coin shortage could be a rallying cry for a long-running movement that has lost steam in recent years: Kill the penny! According to William Safire, in 1950 a penny would buy what a dime would buy today. In 2010, it cost 1.67 cents to produce each penny. Will todays cent get the same kind of reprieve? People think we should not make pennies because they cost 2 cents to make. In all, it lost $58 million - and the Mint, keep in mind, is a federal agency that traditionally makes money in more ways than one. 10 reasons why we should keep the penny - look.perfil.com While the one-cent, once-copper coin doesn't have the purchasing power it used to, Americans still have a hard time letting it go. March 10, 2016 Should we keep the penny or not? A graduate of NYU, he has an MA in English literature and loves literature from all ages. In response, some penny charities started holding nickel drives instead of penny ones, putting their faith in wishing fountains that accept useless coins. The arguments for halting production of pennies basically boil down to the idea that theyre more trouble than theyre worth. Pennies today are worth almost nothing, but they still cost money to produce and consume vast quantities of natural resources. The problem is, too many believe the present administration and government in D.C. is reasonable, when its actually FUBAR. In 2017 it earned almost $400 million in profits producing circulating coins. According to the American Council on Health and Science, penny accounts for 2.4% of all coins produced annually in the US with metal content including zinc ores that are hazardous to environment when released. ], ProCon.org, "Should the Penny Stay in Circulation? 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.. A Penny For Your Thoughts: Why Pennies Are Still Necessary History has shown us that updating the monetary supply in countries where the currency is very stable has had little if any adverse effect on the economy, or people's acceptance of the coinage. Most US coins have an expected circulation life of 20 to 30 years, meaning a single penny could be used thousands or even millions of times. As the U.S. Mint explains, the copper surface of a penny accounts for only 2.5% of its metal content. Nickels also cost more to make than their face value about $0.07 apiece so the Mint loses even more money on each nickel it produces than it does on each penny. (Source 1) That is 60 million dollars we didn't need to lose, and 60 . Baby boomers may nostalgically reminisce of a time when the penny was king, but economist Henry Aaron of the Brookings Institution and other nonprofit research groups argue that the penny's time has come and gone. Most recently, in 2017, SenatorsJohn McCain(R-AZ) andMike Enzi(R-WY) sponsored ultimately failed legislation that would have suspended minting of the penny. The US Mint produces coins as instructed byCongress, so a law would have to be passed by Congress and signed by the President in order for pennies to be removed from circulation. For example, the zinc metals lobby, and the Coinstar company (who make those change-counting machines in the grocery store) will both fight hard to keep the penny in production. Danielle DeLee began writing in 2010. If we don't have the penny. Anti-penny advocates scoff at this argument, pointing out that Lincoln would still remain on the $5 bill, which is actually useful to consumers. That means that annually, the United States loses 60 million dollars in pennies every year! Whats less clear is why Americans are so committed to a coin with so little monetary value. [1] While countries such as Australia, Canada, and New Zealand have phased out their one-cent pieces, Harris Poll found that 55% of Americans are in favor of keeping the penny and 29% want to abolish it. That adds up to a loss of over $61 million for that year alone. It takes a great deal of energy to produce pennies and according to the Environmental Protection Agency, it releases 107 million pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere every year while transporting them. The difference between the face value of a coin and and the actual cost to make it is known as seigniorage. Sign up for more easy craft ideas, fun hobbies, and DIY projects, Lincoln Wheat Penny Key Dates, Rarities and Varieties. One of the overlooked reasons why we should keep the penny is that the abolition of the penny would force an increase in the production of the nickel, as more nickels would be necessary to make up for the pennies that are not in circulation. If that is the case, then people would be less willing to part with spare change for charitable drives. They dropped the penny and rounding happens just the way you learned in like 2nd grade. Is My Penny Solid Copper or a Copper-Plated Zinc Cent? Also we should ks to make the government get his money out and thats over $8 million more than a penny is work. The composition change also meant that Pennies became lighter; before 1982 they weighed 3.11 grams compared to only 2.5 grams after 1982 and about 2500 grams for one dime (2268 grams). I will now list them and also describe them. If you try paying for something in a store with a fistful of pennies, you can expect dirty looks from both the clerk and the other customers if the store doesnt just flat-out refuse to take them. Why or why not? the penny under one cent. People will start rounding up to five cents. [28] Harvard economist Greg Mankiw says that this wasted time costs the US economy around $1 billion annually. In his spare time, Dominic enjoys running along the Hudson River and exploring the citys art galleries. Should We Get Rid of the Penny? - Scholastic Convenience stores across the nation have been showing how handling pennies adds up in cash transactions, but that doesn't sound like a huge issue until you look into the 2019 Federal Reserve study that shows the average consumer makes 11 cash transactions in one week. There's a downside to life without pennies. "Microcap Stock: A Guide for Investors." Accessed Oct. 21, 2020. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. The current cost for manufacturing a nickel is 7.29 cents per coin. The new penny, first issued in 1857 with a Flying Eagle design, was about one-third smaller in diameter than the large cent and less than half the weight. There are notable points that both sides make. The Canadian government stopped producing pennies in May 2012, and the Royal Canadian Mint ceased the distribution of them as of February 4, 2013. i think we should keep the penny so when our kids our older they will know what a penny is yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. Although debate continues today about whether we should get rid of the penny entirely or not, its long history is something worth noting and its clear that it has undergone some monumental changes over time from its composition to its patterns on both sides - which makes it an interesting part of our nations history. 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. Should the United States Stop Using Pennies? The debate over whether to keep the penny or discontinue it has intensified since the penny crossed the line of one-cent production cost per penny. There are multiple upsides as well as downsides to America discontinuing minting the penny. [1] Aaron Klein, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy at the Treasury Department, estimates that the United States could see $1.78 billion in losses over the next 30 years if the penny remains in production. The analysis also shows that tooth decay is still the most common reason for hospital admission with 30,000 children and young people aged 0-19 admitted to hospital last year. It remains to be seen how permanent the new reverse will be, with the fiscal sword of Damocles hanging ominously over the pennys future. Those who oppose keeping the penny say it's not likely that we will identify new ways to bring down the cost of manufacturing pennies. the pennyare affected by higher metal costs. For example, a pizza shop that sells a slice of pizza for $1.98 might start charging $2.00 instead. "IRA FAQs - Investments." At this rate, the United States loses millions of dollars producing pennies and nickels. Accessed Oct. 21, 2020. Representative Jim Kolbe of Arizona sponsored a bill in February 2014 that President Barack Obama argued was a common-sense approach to reducing government waste. However, new initiatives are being proposed to make the penny more efficient - read more to find out how! Its possible that what happens to the penny could end up depending not on the law, but on decisions made by businesses. It cost 2.4 cents to make the penny. Here are the proper bibliographic citations for this page according to four style manuals (in alphabetical order): [Editor's Note: The APA citation style requires double spacing within entries. 10 reasons why we should keep the penny - elzanproperties.com The Mint made nearly 6 billion pennies in 2012 and lost a cent on every single one of them. The problem was resolved by reducing the size of the cent and changing its composition from copper to an alloy of copper and nickel. Eliminating the penny would mean taking away a significant part of his legacy, which many people consider unacceptable. ProCon.org is the institutional or organization author for all ProCon.org pages. However, the nickel is in just as bad a shape as the penny. Despite all this, surveys consistently show that most Americans dont want pennies discontinued. Illustration: The Spruce /Danie Drankwalter. In Defense of the Penny - InsideSources The Indian Head cent endured for half a century before its design was replaced by the Lincoln portrait in 1909, the 100th anniversary of the 16th Presidents birth. Should We Get Rid Of The Penny? | TODAY - YouTube However, a newer study published in 2007 by economist Robert Whaples in the Eastern Economic Journal contradicts Lombra's findings. However, it doesnt say what those reasons are. The primary reason is the soaring cost of metals. 2023 Leaf Group Ltd. / Leaf Group Media, All Rights Reserved. [24], Over the last 35 years, 107 million pounds of carbon dioxide have been emitted due to pennies being delivered from the Mint to banks. There are many anti-penny advocates that scoff at its existence, arguing that it costs more to mint pennies than the coins are worth. Faced with a similar sea of red ink, Canada stopped making cents in May 2012. Most Americans want to keep the penny. Shops wouldn't get money from you and you can save up. The answer, for a variety of reasons, is a resounding "yes.". Remember, pennies cost 2 more than how much their worth, while nickels cost 5 more than the nickel is worth. Consumers using credit wouldnt be affected by this because their transactions could still be counted out to the cent. In theory, a single penny could be used for hundreds or thousands of transactions before it drops out of circulation. [10][11] So what if it costs 1.8 cents to make? Pennies don't last forever, and the US Mint explains that the copper surface can corrode away after a few years. Faced with a similar sea of red ink, Canada stopped making cents in May 2012. [29] An estimate from Citizens to Retire the penny says that the 107 billion cash transactions in the United States annually add up to 120 million hours of time between customers and employees at a cost of $2 billion to the US economy. The impact of the loss of the penny on price flexibility depends on its implementation. It takes energy to extract the zinc from the ore, roll it out, stamp it into coins, and transport the coins to banks. Their reasons differ. It's a Money Loser for Retailers. E-Trade. And its very easy for a child to say, Will you help me support this nonprofit, will you give me your pennies? [6] Elementary school students in Los Angeles, CA, gain significant leadership and civic engagement experience from USCs Penny Harvest program by choosing how to donate the money they raise. "Penny Stock Rules." All rights reserved. 12, 2012, United States Mint, "United States Mint 2015 Annual Report," usmint.gov, June 2016, Associated Press, "US Penny Campaign Benefits Blood Cancer Research," newsday.com, Feb. 10, 2009, University of Southern California, "The USC Penny Harvest Wrapped up Its Third Successful Year," communities.usc.edu (accessed July 2, 2018), Common Cents, "Non-Profits," commoncentsdallas.org (accessed July 2, 2018), Mary Hance, "Penny Drive Sets Record in Raising Money for Second Harvest," tennessean.com, Feb. 17, 2017, Vlogbrothers, "I HATE PENNIES!!!! Managing Editor The ubiquitous one-cent coin has been a part of our everyday lives for over two centuries - and some argue that it's time to get rid of it. As a result, the Mint has to keep making more pennies. Keeping the penny eliminating the penny reflect - Course Hero The group's mission is to keep the penny in use. In fact, it has been struck in greater numbers than all other coins combined including not just U.S. coins but the coins of all other countries throughout recorded history. Because pennies are worth so little, theyre much heavier than any other coin in proportion to their value. Cryptocurrencies provide users with an alternative form of money that is not controlled by any government or bank, but is instead based on blockchain technology. In 1996, the Government Accountability Office reported that roughly two-thirds of pennies dont circulate at all. This makes sense. Report this Content. Citizens to Retire the U.S. Penny points out that in countries that have retired their one-cent coins, charities have not reported a significant drop-off in donations although the group doesnt provide any sources to back up this claim. Shops' reluctance to accept cash payments, coins included, has disempowered people experiencing homelessness, who often don . 4. This question has been debated for years, with people arguing for and against its elimination. Instance penny supporters claim that the penny still holds value and should be kept in circulation. [7] Raymond Lombra, Professor of Economics at Pennsylvania State University, says the extra rounding charges would exceed $600 million annually and would be regressive, affecting the poor and other disadvantaged people groups disproportionately. [9], One study found that penny rounding in Canada costs grocery store customers an estimated 3.27 million Canadian dollars (2.5 million USD) annually. If Cash is No Longer King, What Does that Make Stupid Pennies? A second reason this should happen is that it is bad for the environment. Here are both re. For example the article Should we get rid of the Penny 8 Reasons to Keep it vs Eliminate it says,"Design Life-Cycle.org a sight created by students at the University of California, calculates that just transporting pennies to banks-not even counting any other stage of . In June of this year, New York Times op-ed columnist William Safire wrote an article calling for the elimination of the penny. [36], 6. Not if we want to keep ination in check, protect America's Proper citation depends on your preferred or required style manual. Post date: 20 yesterday. 10 reasons why we should keep the penny. Would love your thoughts, please comment. Additionally, the United States Mint changed the silver composition and weight of many coins due to the increasing price of silver. Some say the United States should stop using pennies because the cost of producing the coin is now higher than the value of the coin. Using your figures, that would amount to about 1000 ounces of copper. There has been a growing debate on whether we should keep the penny or let it go. The U.S. Mint does lose money on pennies and nickels. A few people groused about it, but commerce continued unabated. It takes a lot of time for volunteers to pick up, clean, sort, and count all those coins, and the more pennies there are in the mix, the less value the charity gets for each coin it handles. 6.9 Reasons Why America Should Get Rid of the Penny - The Balance. Lombra also argued that this small change in prices would trigger an increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). [23], Making pennies also has environmental consequences from mining and transportation. 3. In 1959, the 150th anniversary of Lincolns birth, this wheat-ears reverse gave way to a likeness of the Lincoln Memorial. To save time at the register, some businesses have experimented with rounding all transactions to the nearest nickel. Should the US government consider removing other coins from circulation as transactions become more digital? The penny debate gained renewed attention when the coronavirus pandemic led to a nationwide coin shortage as consumers moved towards contactless payment methods.