Money is the backbone of America. Without it anarchy would break out and bargaining would fail as people would claim the trade wasn’t fair. Thievery would explode across the globe and some lazy people would have no motivation to work. While most people believe that money is important, the question is whether all money is important. For centuries, the penny has shared a role in American currency and has served a great purpose. In the past, pennies could buy candies, slices of bread, and many other things all on their own. But as time changed, so has the value of the penny. As costs went up, the value of the penny went down. And with its lesser value, some people wonder if it’s even worth it to keep the penny around.
Though the penny’s value has decreased a good amount, some Americans condemn the idea of abolishing the penny because they believe the penny is sentimental to American history. Penny fans argue
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that it would be disrespectful because the coin is a tribute to Abraham Lincoln and serves as a reminder of his good deeds as president. Sylvester Neal, a professional penny hoarder, states that "The penny is part of American history" and that abolishing it "…would be like getting rid of the flag" (" Pinch the Penny? Debating the Value of the Penny."). Opponents of the abolishing the penny have also pointed out the economic factors. Mark Weller, is the CEO for Americans for Common Cents, “a pro-penny group funded by the zinc industry.” Weller is afraid “that eliminating the penny and rounding up prices will cause inflation” ("Pinch the Penny? Debating the Value of the Penny."). Another valid argument is the possibility of rising prices hitting the impoverished hard or even running away potential customers. Though the argument of the penny being sentimental is valid, it doesn’t mean that America shouldn’t abolish it. Opponents argue that abolishing the penny would eradicate one of America’s heroes, Abraham Lincoln, but this statement is indeed false. In fact, Lincoln’s face isn’t going anywhere because he and his monument are still on the five dollar bill which is worth 500 times more than the penny. In addition, according to the NPR, “Canada decided to stop minting its penny later this year [2012], and they're not alone. Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Norway, Britain, Switzerland and Finland and, among others, have all dropped their lowest-value coin, and somehow, the sun rose again the following morning” ("The Problems with Pennies."). All of these countries got rid of their own “sentimental coins” and none of the countries reported any significant consequences. It is also very important to add the fact that there used to be an American coin called the half-cent, worth half of a penny. The U.S. got rid of it in 1857 because it was worth too little. Since we have also dumped a “sentimental coin” before it shouldn’t be a big deal to dump another one. There are also flaws in the argument of, “abolishing the penny would cause increased prices and a rise in inflation.” ("Pinch the Penny?
Debating the Value of the Penny.") If America were to abolish the penny, “Stores [would] round [prices] up or down for cash purchases based on an easy formula. If the final price ends in 1 or 2, round down; 3, 4, 6 and 7, round off to 5; 8 and 9 round up” (“A Penny Spurned”). When every economic transaction ends in 5 or 0, commerce is more efficient, errors are diminished and bookkeeping is simpler. Not only that, but the U.S. Military has already gotten rid of the penny in some offshore bases, and they are doing just fine. It is correct that prices may “…rise five cents, but [stores] might be stickier because these would be startling increases, and maybe gas station owners would be reluctant to raise those prices by that kind of an increment.” Also, “…hundredth of a dollar charges persist when you use a credit card or pay by check.” So it would only affect cash transactions which aren't a big deal ("The Problems with
Pennies."). In the eyes of many people, the only logical decision for the penny is to simply get rid of it. This is because of how much the drawbacks of the penny outweigh the reasons to continue minting it. The proof is in the numbers. Since the penny’s entrance into circulation in 1792, the penny “has lost 96 percent of its value, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' inflation calculator.” Furthermore, “it costs 2.4 cents to make a penny” ("The Problems with Pennies.") Pennies cost more to make than face value rendering each a loss from the start. According to NDP MP Pat Martin, “it makes little financial success for the mint to churn out its 800 million pennies per year...Total losses run an estimated $24 million per year” (“A Penny Spurned."). It makes the phrase “you have to spend money to make money” painfully true. I have a 6-year-old cousin named Sadie who is suffering from brain cancer and all of the money that is being wasted could be used to aid and benefit other projects including as cancer research. Not only is the penny a waste of money, but it is also a waste of time. Millions of Americans have experienced that awkward moment when someone is digging for coins in their wallet while an entire line is waiting behind them. Wasting time out of a busy day simply trying to fish out nearly worthless coins adds up after many years. In 2003, economists at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, “…calculated the price to society of having cashiers dole out change in pennies while everyone else stands around waiting. At just an extra second per transaction, it works out to $65 million in wasted time and effort annually.” (“A Penny Spurned.") Clearly, the penny plays a part in somewhat hindering Americans potential of being productive and successful. America will always be a changing society that goes through economic ups and downs. But abolishing the penny is a necessary action for the United States to take because it wastes the time of the people and it costs more to produce than what it’s worth. Abolishing the penny would not bring immediate changes, but will improve the quality of transactions and economics within the country. Making purchases will become easier and less of a task to all Americans. Losing the penny would not be a loss of a symbol of greatness, but a step towards a smarter future. America should abolish the penny. The only downside to abolishing the penny is that it would no longer make sense to offer a penny for someone's thoughts.
Today, the small cent is once again too expensive to produce, and too irrelevant to bother with. Eliminate the cent and round all cash purchases to the nearest nickel. There will not be a gain or a loss from two more cents on the transaction. There won't be any dwelling over the situation. It is time for the United States of America to grow up and abolish this meaningless Lincoln penny. The penny has been a complete fiasco.
In 2001 United States Representative Jim Kolbe introduced legislation to Congress to eliminate the penny coin in most transactions. Although this legislation failed, there are still consistent calls to eliminate the penny as the smallest-denomination United States coin. Our nation is founded on passed traditions. Any American can look basically in any place to understand why America has thrived for centuries. Every tradition, sculpture, monument, or artifact gives Americans history about what has occured. The country struggles to destroy any of these long kept traditions. Although some traditions are completely relevant, the use of the penny is of little worth today. Whether the penny is rolling around in your pocket or resting at the
In America’s modern day economy, the penny is very useless and irrelevant in our society today. As source C states, “The time has come to abolish the outdated, almost worthless, bothersome, and wasteful penny.” There is not one item that can be purchased with a penny anymore (Source C). As source C states, “it takes nearly a dime to buy what a penny bought back in 1950.” Stores such as the Dollar Store prove how the cheapest items you can purchase are with only a dollar, not a cent. Pennies are shoved out of the economic picture by credit cards and because of the modern-day technology, there are even self-service machines that help convert coins into paper money (Source B). Furthermore, pennies are easily tossed into piggy banks or appear behind chair cushions. It is not used the same way as it was before.
They must be eliminated, but you might think. Wont prices go up and charities lose money? No. new zealand , finland, and the netherlands stopped using the one cent or the one cent euro and noticed no change in cost instead they round to the nearest five cent. Anyways the US has already gone through this process without trouble like the half cent it was eliminated in 1857 because it was too little worth. Another thing is that everyone loves lincoln so they might think that his monument might be taken away but taking away the penny won't take away his memory we will still have him on our five dollar bill which won't go away. Yes you might think it is unpatriotic or disrespectful to take away lincoln but the us military is not using pennies because they have already realized that pennies are useless and not needed so they round to the nearest five cent. So basically pennies just aren't worth making, they waste people's time and they don't even work as money like they are supposed to, and because of inflammation lose more value every year making them making everything
To begin, United States should not eliminate the penny because the coin has impacted our language by giving us more phrases and words. According to source #4, it states, “The one-cent has influenced our language, giving us a number of idioms, such as ‘a penny for your thoughts’ (a way to ask what someone is thinking) and ‘not one red cent’ (meaning no money at all).” This is significant because it shows that the penny has affected the English language
Have a good look at the penny, what do you see? You probably see nothing but a copper coated circular poor valued cent. Little does everyone know pennies have been around longer than before their grandparents, even their great-grandparents! Matter of fact, it was around so long ago that Abraham Lincoln’s face was not the first design on the penny. I ask that you take the time to consider the American penny’s worth. Without the people’s belief in its value, the penny will be abolished. I see people every day throwing away a penny rather than to put it in their pocket and save it for future uses. Yes a penny is "outdated, almost worthless, bothersome and wasteful" (Safire) piece of junk, but it's has an economic, cultural, and historical significance to the United States of America. The problem is that nobody pays attention to that, and that gives pennies the image of no value. Three good solutions to show the pennies worth include: tolls and vending machines accepting the coin, more charities to keep their penny drives, and historical evidence of what the penny mean to America so that it can be passed on to the future generations.
In fact there are many people that oppose abolishing the penny. In source E it states “that 62 percent of people oppose abolishing the penny that has a income less then $25,000 a year.” If the penny was to be abolish then the nickel would be the lowest coin in amount of money. If the nickel was the lowest amount of money there was then that means the purchase prices of items sold would increase. The prices would increase on items sold because the penny would not be in circulation to allow the customer to pay with the correct amount of change. Instead of being able to pay $3.47 for a kids meal at MacDonalds the customer would have to pay $3.50 for the kids meal. With the increasing prices of merchandise sold in stores there could be a budget upset for many families that have to follow a tight budget. Many families have to follow a tight budget to be able to provide for there families. With a tight budget there is no room for the prices of merchandise to increase due to losing the penny. Every penny counts when it comes to having a tight budget and providing for your
Millions of Americans work full-time, day in and day out, making near and sometimes just minimum wage. In 1998, Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join them in part by the welfare claim, which promises that any job equals a better life. Barbara wondered how anyone can survive, let alone prosper, on $6-$7 an hour. Barbara moved from Florida to Maine to Minnesota, working in the cheapest lodgings available and accepting work as a waitress, hotel maid, house cleaner, nursing home aide, and Wal-Mart salesperson. She soon realizes that even the lowliest occupations require exhausting mental and physical efforts and in most cases more than one job was needed to make ends meet. Nickel and Dimed reveals low-wage America in all of its glory, consisting of
We should keep the penny because it has history, in fact it was “the first currency authorized by the United States” (Lewis). The penny no longer has the value that it used to have, but it is still necessary to make purchases as accurate as possible. The penny may seem like a waste of time to many Americans because it takes so long for cashiers to make change, forcing people to wait in line, but it is actually worth the time spent. The penny helps with keeping prices a cent lower, and therefore stimulating the economy. The penny is important to many people who need the money and for whom pennies still have value.
We already have 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, and 50¢ coins! If we keep pennies it will be a lot to handle with the $1, $2, $5, $10, and $100. Not to mention how we got rid of the $500; $1,000; $5000; and $10,000 in 1969 so we could extort rid of the penny. For items that are like $1.97 we can round up to $2.00 and down to $1.95 so we can round the value. It may make things more expensive, but not too much so the trade is worth it.
There is a side to this debate where the penny could win and stay in circulation. To start, the penny has been around for years and years and it has seemed to work for this whole time. This is true, the penny has been around and can be used still in everyday life. The turn side of this, though valid, is with systems changing is is becoming more and more rare for the penny to have a true dire need. One other strong reason to keep the penny alive would be charity. Charity relies on those people who do not necessarily care enough to keep the pennies t drop them off in the donation box. That though, has a simple solution. If the penny were no longer around nickels and dimes would begin to be the change customers and users are no longer wanting. Charity then in result
Many of Americans view the every day penny as only one cent that carries only little to no value, which is why they wind-up stashed away at the back of drawers. What most people don’t have a clue is the value it once held back in the days where a can of coke was about one cent. Our very own citizens who once fought battles and came home scarred knew that the penny wasn’t just one cent, it was the blood shed, their fallen brothers, and the never ending tears that symbolized one single Lincoln. Pennies are worth more than their currency, they are the history of our home and the beginning of where we stand today.
The penny has been in America for centuries, it's a sentimental object for Americans everywhere. However many have debated on whether or not it should be eliminated or continue being made. The penny should be preserved because it is apart of American culture, given to charity, and keeps items cheap.
A buyer brings along with him snacks that he would like to purchase in a dollar store: chocolate chip cookies, a Pepsi, gummy bears, and a bag of chips. He waits in line, eager to consume this huge delight. It is his turn, and he hurriedly placed his treats on the counter, waiting anxiously to pay immediately. The cashier replies to him, “The price will be $5.99, sir.” The buyer takes out five one-dollar bills and four quarters. Not an instance did he ever use a penny in this case, which he thought was useless and meaningless. As you can see, the penny has become quite worthless and diminished in purpose. Many citizens would prefer to round up and pay rather than spend time and look in their
What is the point of the penny? It costs more than it actually costs. It takes up way too much space. We either store them in jars, and never think about them again, or we throw them away into the nearest fountain. And their value is so small to the point that if you had 10,000 of them, the highest you would get would be $100. So what's their point? The answer is nothing! They are absolutely and utterly worthless beyond belief. Therefore, only one conclusion is reasonable. The government should discontinue the production of the penny in the US.