10 reasons why we should keep the penny
Despite the cost incurred by the Federal Reserve for minting pennies, many Americans still feel it important enough to honor Lincoln's legacy that they keep the coin bearing his image in circulation. In addition, zinc is toxic in high doses and small amounts can contaminate water and soil in the area surrounding ore roll producing pennies. There are many anti-penny advocates that scoff at its existence, arguing that it costs more to mint pennies than the coins are worth. Anti-penny advocates are fond of pointing out that today, the penny costs taxpayers more to produce than its actually worth. These composition changes ranged from temporary wartime alterations during World War II, to more permanent switches like using zinc instead of copper for the penny. 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. In response, some penny charities started holding nickel drives instead of penny ones, putting their faith in wishing fountains that accept useless coins. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in economics and international studies from Yale University. The decision to discontinue it would incur political backlash. They're Bad for the Environment. Many detractors, tell me what a detractor is, argue that the penny costs more than its face value to . For instance, penny supporters claim that eliminating the coin could harm the economy or hamper charities in their fundraising efforts. Using your figures, that would amount to about 1000 ounces of copper. Jarden and the zinc industry are fighting to keep the penny. Both sides in the penny debate make some good points, and the solution is far from being an easy decision. Even during my childhood in the 1980s, there was a candy store not far from our house that sold penny candy in jars one penny for a mini Tootsie Roll, or two for a Mary Jane. Her areas of writing expertise include economic theory and applications, Russian culture and scuba diving. We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. Economist Greg Mankiw of Harvard University argues that pennies are simply no longer useful as a means of exchange: When people start leaving a monetary unit at the cash register for the next customer, the unit is too small to be useful.. Apr 08, 2023; By ; In nmaa all district teams 2022; camscanner premium account id and password According to CNBC, adults who make less than $30,000 per year are about four times as likely to make most of their purchases with cash as those who earn $75,000 or more. But today, vending machines don't accept pennies, parking meters are coinless and automatic toll booths won't take them either. Below are the proper citations for this page according to four style manuals (in alphabetical order): the Modern Language Association Style Manual (MLA), the Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago), the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA), and Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (Turabian). In the rare case you have never heard of or used a penny, it is the one cent coin in U.S. At the G-8 summit next week, the Brits and the French -- even the French!