Argumentative Essay: Should The Penny Be Abolished?

Pennies can generate a great quantity of hostility between a cashier and the customers. Once, as a young child, I wanted to empty my purse of its pennies. While I counted the pennies I needed, the cashier impatiently tapped their fingers on the register with their eyes staring at the pennies, willing them to burn up. The frustration spreaded to the other customers, leading them to argue and complain. Hurriedly, I searched for the last few pennies before almost throwing the pennies onto the counter. The calamity the pennies had brought upon could have been avoided, but everyone who witnessed the scene left the store vexed. Pennies produce more trouble than good. In the United States, the one-cent unit has become a huge controversy. Over time, the penny has lost its worth and value, prompting many to advocate for its elimination. The United States’ economy has advanced and evolved so remarkably that the penny should be abolished because it no longer

serves the purpose it was created to serve and it would reduce the costs that are spent on it.

The worth and value of the penny has dropped significantly, preventing the coin to serve its purpose. In the article “Penny Anti,” numerous experts concluded that the penny is of no importance anymore. “The purpose of the monetary system is to facilitate exchange, but the penny no longer serves that purpose.” Harvard professor N. Gregory Mankiw, a former chairman of President Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers, disclosed. It has become common practice to leave the one-cent unit at the register as it is worth so little. “When people start leaving a monetary unit at the cash register… the unit is too small to be useful.” As stated in “The Cost of the Penny,” pennies are a waste of time and effort. The Department of Defense ceased to ship pennies out to oversea

bases over thirty years ago as they concluded that the coins were “too heavy and not cost effective enough to ship.” If our own nation’s military forces will not use pennies, then why should we? Yet, while the penny holds no economic value, some hold onto the coin for its sentimental value. Penny supporters claim the meanings it holds is far too significant for the U.S. to eradicate it, but the nation does have a history of abolishing coins of little worth. In 1857, the half-cent was put out of production, and life continued without any issues. Furthermore, the students who wrote “Save the Penny - Save the Day!” argued that penny drives are only successful because of the coin’s low worth and getting them would cause charities to suffer. However, nickel and dime drives can be as successful if the penny was terminated. Those coins are worth more than pennies, but little enough that people will not mind donating them. Charities will not suffer. A coin such as the penny is too picayune to serve us any purpose and should not be kept in circulation.