Chipotle restaurants have already taken this initiative by simply rounding bills off to the nearest nickel, but when management decided to do this some customers complained about paying extra cents added on their bills. Learn how to pay for IVF with these strategies for fertility financing. Although originally made of pure copper, pennies today are composed of 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper. With more consumers moving toward contactless payment methods, news sources from Fortune to NPR began asking: Is the penny finally on its way out? Penny's sentimental value proves priceless - Coppell Student Media Eliminating pennies would save time at the point of purchase without hurting customers or businesses financially. the penny under one cent. 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. American Numismatic Association The penny may be worthless, but let's keep it anyway 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. Should Pennies Be Eliminated Research Paper - 539 Words | Bartleby So long as most Americans remain attached to the penny whether their reasons are logical or not its unlikely that a bill to eliminate it will ever make it through Congress. If your thoughts have not changed, list two to three ways your better understanding of the other side of the issue now helps you better argue your position. ], [Editors Note: The MLA citation style requires double spacing within entries. This article was published on July 2, 2018, at Britannicas ProCon.org, a nonpartisan issue-information source. In fact, it costs almost a dime to make a nickel today. Summary: Pennies are made of zinc and copper, and zinc can be harmful: Zinc mining and industrial use has negative . Should we keep the penny. The Daily Iowan. 2022-11-18 In response, some penny charities started holding nickel drives instead of penny ones, putting their faith in wishing fountains that accept useless coins. 10 reasons why we should keep the penny - theflowerfall.com https://www.britannica.com/story/pro-and-con-penny. [27], Rounding transactions to the nearest nickel instead of using pennies wouldnt harm consumers or stores. A nonpartisan organization called Citizens to Retire the U.S. Penny has attracted the support of economists from Harvard and Wake Forest University. However, once stores stop accepting pennies, consumers will have even more incentive to donate the coins to charity because they wont be able to use them anywhere else. (4) Considering that the penny has virtually no purchasing power, it does nothing except add unnecessary weight to our pockets and purses. Those who think we should keep the U.S. penny cite the following arguments to support their position. Should We Get Rid Of The Penny? | TODAY - YouTube 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. Aaron's argument resonates with many modern consumers who remember when a person could buy a mini Tootsie Roll, Mary Jane or ice cream cone at the candy store with just one penny. Unlike some other foreign governments, the penny remains legal tender in Canada. Shops' reluctance to accept cash payments, coins included, has disempowered people experiencing homelessness, who often don . TD Ameritrade. The production and use of the penny is no longer cost-effective, so it may make sense to eliminate it as a way to save money and resources. For obvious reasons, pressure to keep the cent has been applied persistently by providers of zinc and copper, the two component metals in the coin, who would lose contracts worth tens of millions of dollars every year if pennies were abolished. With that in mind, halting production of the penny may be a sensible decision for society as a whole. Creating the penny releases C02 into the air. "IRA FAQs - Investments." But one point that these advocates often overlook is the value of honoring Abraham Lincoln, the revered president depicted on the penny's face. [ 36 ] 6. Why Keep The Penny? - AMAC In 2017 it earned almost $400 million in profits producing circulating coins. Producing pennies also uses a great deal of energy. Should we keep the penny. To access extended pro and con arguments, sources, and discussion questions about whether the penny should stay in circulation, go to ProCon.org. According to CNN, the Mint has researched the possibility of making pennies from cheaper materials, but it could not find a way to bring the cost of producing them below their face value. The COVID-19 pandemic could accelerate this trend. 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. Will a suitable substitute be found? People who get them in change during the day often dump them in mayonnaise jars, sugar bowls or drawers when they empty their pockets at night. 25, 2019, Jenny Gross, "Will the Penny Survive Coronavirus? The penny is no longer a useful form of currency and its continued existence is costing the US government money. And in February 2014, President Barack Obama argued during a YouTube chat that pennies were obsolete and a symbol of U.S. government waste. Reduced coin usage linked to the pandemic has already had an impact. Of course, spending $0.018 to make a coin thats worth only $0.01 isnt necessarily a bad idea because coins are reusable. First, consumers benefit with a low denomination coin. ", ProCon.org. 6.9 Reasons Why America Should Get Rid of the Penny - The Balance. And if a single penny is useless, a whole bunch of pennies isnt much better. All prices would have to be rounded to the nearest nickel. If we keep the penny we would get more taxes over time. "FAQs: How Issuers Work with DTC." Charities benefit from spare change because, since people do not care about it, they are more likely to give it away. In June of this year, New York Times op-ed columnist William Safire wrote an article calling for the elimination of the penny. As a result, the Mint has to keep making more pennies. The C.O.I.N.S. However, it doesn't say what those reasons are. In addition, zinc itself, although necessary in small amounts, is harmful in high doses to both humans and animals. The problem was resolved by reducing the size of the cent and changing its composition from copper to an alloy of copper and nickel. [12], Pennies and nickels both cost more to make than their face values, but on average over the last five years, nickels have been made at a loss of 2.58 cents per coin, compared to .65 cents per penny. "Current Market." If the penny is discontinued, then merchants must round all prices. In conclusion we should get rid of the penny. Lombra did his careful analysis by simply looking at a convenience stores prices and assuming that each consumer would buy three items in one visit. Mining zinc and copper produces carbon dioxide emissions and pollutants, and uses vast amounts of energy. Accessed Oct. 21, 2020. In Grey's video, he notes that in 2006, even with pennies only 5 percent copper and 95 percent zinc, "the value of copper rose to more than the value of the penny, meaning they were worth more . No, we can't, for some reason. It would also cause prices to rise. As both stores and individuals stop keeping pennies on hand, banks wont need to supply as many. Among other things, we may receive free products, services, and/or monetary compensation in exchange for featured placement of sponsored products or services. Danielle DeLee began writing in 2010. After all, we still need the coin for a number of reasons. What Is a Financial Statement Restatement? Because pennies are worth so little, theyre much heavier than any other coin in proportion to their value. Thus, it couldnt affect government expenditures or trigger widespread inflation. A dollar coin can last up to forty years. so at 27 cents per ounce, I am going to have about $270 in value. The penny no longer serves that purpose. )," YouTube.com, Sep. 6, 2010, Greg Mankiw, "Get Rid of the Penny!," gregmankiw.blogspot.com, Apr. Dominic is passionate about writing stories that have the power to make a difference in peoples lives.He believes that knowledge is key to understanding and progress, which he strives to bring to his readers through his work. The Department of Defense banned the use of pennies at overseas military bases in 1980 because the coins were deemed too heavy and not cost effective to ship. The American Council of Science and Health calculates that just transporting pennies to banks not even counting any of the other stages of their production put about 107 million pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere between 1982 and 2016. [37], 7. Can We All Just Agree That Pennies Are Stupid And Need To Be - HuffPost Post date: 20 yesterday. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, zinc ores contain only 3% to 11% metallic zinc. NBC's Morgan Radford reports for Weeke. It doesnt matter. Why America Should Get Rid of the Penny - Ontopwiki Should the Penny Stay in Circulation? - Top 3 Pros and Cons - ProCon.org Some are opposed to change, and others are attached to the penny for sentimental reasons. We strive to write accurate and genuine reviews and articles, and all views and opinions expressed are solely those of the authors. Although some stores have decided to practice completely without pennies, an argument from Americans is that it's just common cents to keep them around. What Are Elastic, Unitary and Inelastic How to Approach Change in an Organization. Ironically, getting rid of it might actually make it more difficult for people to donate money since fewer coins would be available. " THE PENNY DEBATE" written by Brad Andrews explains to the readers the important points and reasons on why we should keep the penny and important points and reasons as to why we should get rid of the penny. The first penny, known as the Fugio cent, was reportedly designed by Benjamin Franklin in 1787. MAKE JEWELRY. Crypto possibilities are coming into play as more and more businesses accept digital currencies as payment. [25] A California company called Mikes Bikes has banned the penny from its registers because Making pennies wastes natural resources [and] is toxic to people and the environment. [26], The use of pennies in paying for goods and making change adds time to sales transactions. (6) The penny has become useless as a means of exchange. But today, vending machines don't accept pennies, parking meters are coinless and automatic toll booths won't take them either. [2][3], The US Mint produces coins as instructed by Congress, so a law would have to be passed by Congress and signed by the President in order for pennies to be removed from circulation. All rights reserved. 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. memorial service for bro. Carlton Pinney | Join us as we - Facebook But the price of copper receded, and plans for the change were dropped. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Supporters of the penny dont buy this argument. Those profits result from seigniorage, a positive cash flow that occurs when coins face value exceeds the cost of minting them, rather than the other way around. His mission is to use his platform as an author to bring awareness and perspective on important issues affecting everyday life. The process of making pennies is costly both financially and environmentally. 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.