Should The US Get Rid of The Penny? (Congress, controversial, Canada)

[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??

[nmnita]

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??

Yes, they are a pain, I am tired of things priced at XXX..99. They are not cost effective like you just memtioned. Sometimes we need to follow the lead of other countries, this is one of them. My husband has said this for years...

[evilnewbie]

I don't think you should get rid of the penny until "physical cash" is eliminated from the system by way of no-fee bank debit cards... everything is priced/taxed down to the level of pennies and until that system changes, pennies will be necessary... even if it costs too much to produce...

[juppiter]

Absolutely yes. The government loses money on each penny it issues. Prices should be rounded to the nearest .00 or .05

If you want to cut deficits, look at unorthodox ideas like this. The paper dollar should also go away and be replaced by a dollar coin, but the Massachusetts congressional delegation continually blocks this to protect jobs in Massachusetts. But they're protecting jobs that waste taxpayer money.

[KUchief25]

Pennies is all we will have left when Obama and the democrats get done with the country. Best keep em in circulation.

[PullMyFinger]

I HATE PENNIES!!!! (Also Nickels.) - YouTube

[sturmgeist]

I like pennies I collect em'

[Frank DeForrest]

We need to go cashless so the state can track all our transactions. You know the whole terrorism thing.

[GTOlover]

Canadians did stop to think about the cost of money last month when Finance Minister Jim Flaherty killed the Canadian penny.

The one-cent coin was easy to get rid of because fewer and fewer people attached any value to it, and it was costing more than it was worth to manufacture.

But imagine how much money is invested in making those new high-tech $100 bills, the ones designed to foil even the most creative counterfeiters, and all the additional expenses they incur on their way to somebody's wallet.

"The costs of cash are no surprise to central bankers," says Wolman. "The costs start at the manufacturing level and maintenance: transporting it and counting it and inspecting it and then securing it, re-counting it and re-inspecting it and shipping it off to a bank.

"And once it's too-tired looking, they redesign it and reissue it."

As a technology, cash looks more than tired. It looks doomed.

Last year 56 per cent of Canadians, in a survey by Leger Marketing, said they would be happy to never handle money again and exclusively use a digital wallet.

Thirty-four per cent said they'd prefer to use their phones to pay for stuff instead of carrying around pockets of coins.

Then last week the Royal Canadian Mint made its public gesture toward a cashless society. It launched a contest to design apps to be used with a new technology called MintChip.

It's not ice-cream, it's a data storage device the mint is developing to help consumers go cashless. You can use it to buy a pack of gum or make complicated payments online.

The design contest was supposed to be open to entries until August, but there were so many applications in the first week the mint has stopped accepting more.
The international movement for the end of cash - Technology & Science - CBC News
Well I guess we could try this "digital wallet" out in Canada first since it would be easy to get a idea if it works and if it is bad well then we will ditch it.

It is the 21st century and it is going there so I guess why just do it one coin at atime and not just go all in and see if it works..My Bank Card and credit cards already has a RFRID chips in them along with my Driver license and heck if only my Drivers License could work as my bank card also it seems like worth a try.

[theunbrainwashed]

I agree. It'd be nice to have everything priced to the nearest zero or 5 cents. I hate pennies myself, and most cashiers hate when I give them more than four pennies when rounding up change for a sale.