Essay Abolish The Penny

“It takes nearly a dime today to buy what a penny bought back in 1950. Despite this, the U.S. Mint keeps churning out a billion pennies a month” (Safire, 2006). The U.S. Mint continues to make a coin that is costing them more to make than it is worth. Although people may be attached to the history of having a penny as part of the monetary system, it is more important to keep up with relevant costs. Even though the penny is a historical representation of our country, it would save time and money if eliminated from the U.S. monetary system.

By omitting the penny, less money would be spent by the government. The U.S. Mint would no longer need to make the coin which would save materials, time, and money. In the article, “Abolish the Penny,” William Safire tells us, “There is no escaping economic history: it takes nearly a dime today to buy what a penny bought back in 1950. Despite this, the U.S. Mint keeps churning out a billion pennies a month.” Ultimately, if the production of pennies would stop, it would end up reducing costs for the American people. When you look at a detailed analysis, each person would save approximately sixty dollars per year by getting rid of the penny. In

the article, “Penny Pinchers,” Ric Kahn explains:
The National Association of Convenience Stores and Walgreens drug store chain estimated that handling pennies adds 2 to 2.5 seconds to each cash transaction (remember that we are including the occasional customer who spends 30 seconds looking for the penny in his pocket). Let us estimate that each person goes through three of these transactions per day and that on average there is one person waiting in line (making for a total of three people’s time wasted in each transaction). We can then calculate that the presence of pennies wastes (3 transactions/day) × (2.25 seconds/transaction) × (3 people per transaction) = 20 seconds per day. Probably only about half of the wasted time is directly connected with a cash transaction, giving a total of 40 wasted seconds per day per person. This may not seem like a lot, but it translates to 40 × 365 / 3600 = 4 hours per person per year. If each person’s time is worth $15/hour then we arrive at the conclusion that each person is losing $60 per year, at a cost to the nation of over $15 billion per year.
Not only would it be able to save each person a little money, but the entire nation would preserve billions. It simply makes financial sense to upgrade our monetary system to exclude the penny.
If the penny were to be eliminated, there would be a significant amount of time saved.

Pennies used to be useful with a higher worth and purpose, but in the modern world, their value has decreased. William Safire explains in the article, “Abolish the Penny,” how, “Quarters and dimes circulate; pennies disappear because they are literally more trouble than they are worth.” A person can no longer pay with pennies in vending machines or gum ball dispensers, they must use coins that are valued at larger amounts. The pennies end up in random pockets or drawers and are forgotten about since they have hardly any use. People may not realize it, but there are wasted seconds everyday due to people searching for pennies. Once again, in the article, “Penny Pinchers,” Ric Kahn

explains:
The National Association of Convenience Stores and Walgreens drug store chain estimated that handling pennies adds 2 to 2.5 seconds to each cash transaction (remember that we are including the occasional customer who spends 30 seconds looking for the penny in his pocket). Let us estimate that each person goes through three of these transactions per day and that on average there is one person waiting in line (making for a total of three people’s time wasted in each transaction). We can then calculate that the presence of pennies wastes (3 transactions/day) × (2.25 seconds/transaction) × (3 people per transaction) = 20 seconds per day. Probably only about half of the wasted time is directly connected with a cash transaction, giving a total of 40 wasted seconds per day per person. This may not seem like a lot, but it translates to 40 × 365 / 3600 = 4 hours per person per year. If each person’s time is worth $15/hour then we arrive at the conclusion that each person is losing $60 per year, at a cost to the nation of over $15 billion per year.
Looking through change in our pockets and wallets wastes time and money, and if the penny were to be removed it would provide more efficient time use on a daily basis. By analyzing the scientific evidence, it proves there would be a sizable savings in both time and money.
If the Legal Tender Modernization Act were set in place, the penny would be discouraged and eventually unnecessary. Rather than forcing people to immediately stop the use of pennies, the Legal Tender Modernization Act promotes a gradual elimination. The article, “Ban the Penny,” by Mark Lewis explains, “Kolbe, an Arizona Republican, is doing his best, although his proposed Legal Tender Modernization Act is languishing in a subcommittee. The bill would not ban pennies, but merely discourage their use by establishing a system under which cash transactions would be rounded up or down. That would render the penny unnecessary.” The need for the coin would continue to decrease and ultimately come to an end. The reality is, pennies are not made with the same materials as they originally were. “Ban the Penny,” an article written by Mark Lewis, explains, “Up until 1982, pennies were made mostly of copper; since then they have been 97.5% zinc, with a little copper mixed in for appearance’s sake.” As the country is trying to reduce production costs, it would make more sense to withdraw this coin from circulation. Providing U.S. citizens time to adjust to the idea of no longer using pennies is the best way to encourage a new policy. Even though the penny is a historical representation of our country, it would save time and money if eliminated from the U.S. monetary system. It is the duty of American citizens to do what is best for the country, which is to save time and money by eliminating the penny. With inflation being an unavoidable constant, the value of the penny will continue to decrease. There needs to be a decision made to either withdraw the coin from circulation now or it will become further useless on its own.Works Cited
Kahn, Ric. “Penny Pinchers.” Globe.com 9 October 2005. 10 February 2006 (-- removed HTML --) .
Lewis, Mark. “Ban the Penny.” Forbes.com 5 July 2002. 8 February 2006 (-- removed HTML --) .
Safire, William. “Abolish the Penny.” nytimes.com 2 June 2004. 3 November 2006 (-- removed HTML --) .