Should The US Get Rid of The Penny?

[sturmgeist]

Originally Posted by AkronAlan

So the taxpayers should subsidize your hobby, is what you're saying?

I pay taxes

[Dane_in_LA]

Originally Posted by Smoke_Jaguar4

If it costs 2.41₵ to make a penny, then that penny pays for itself after just three transactions.

I am not follwong the logic - could you elaborate on this a little?

[PhenomenalAJ]

The only interests keeping it alive are a few sentimental mushheads who make lawmakers afraid to kill it. Neither party is really interested in getting rid of government waste so it'll take awhile because the 2 parties will squabble about this idiotic issue to death.

[AkronAlan]

Originally Posted by sturmgeist

I pay taxes

Yes, but most of us would like to pay less taxes and not have them wasted

[wehotex]

Originally Posted by LauraC

"Canada has decided to stop minting its one-cent value coin later this year, following the lead of countries like Great Britain, Brazil, Switzerland and Australia. Nearly a third (31%) of American Adults favor a proposal for the United States to stop making pennies. But a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 51% oppose such a proposal, while 19% more are not sure about it."

31% Favor Getting Rid of the Penny - Rasmussen Reportsâ„¢

Canada is getting rid of their one cent coin claiming it's a nuisance to small businesses (wasn't it a nuisance before?) but is issuing a quarter with dinosaurs whose skeletons glow in the dark at the same time they claim it costs 1.5 cents to make a 1 cent coin.

Canada rolls out new dinosaur quarter - and it glows in the dark! | Mail Online

In the United States, the mint says, each zinc and copper coin costs 2.41 cents to produce and distribute.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/08/yo...ll-the-us.html

I don't think the support would fall along conservative or liberal lines but it could be controversial if you thought merchants would charge more if that happened here? (Rounding up or charging enough to make them round up instead of down.) What do you do with your pennies now and what would you do with them if the government stopped minting them and merchants refused to accept them??

No. Keep the penny!! Once the cent is eliminated, every greedy American business will raise ALL prices upwards. I wouldn't count on them going downwards. Whenever liquor taxes are raised here in Texas by a nickel, you can count on the cocktail prices being raised up by 25 cents. That's just the way that businesses take advantage of a situation.

[cruxan]

Originally Posted by sturmgeist

I like pennies I collect em'

you can have all of mine!!! but you will need a metal detector, they are scatered all over the yard