The penny has been around for over 200 years and has had over 21 redesigns. The penny more than an object, it is a symbol of the American society, and it contains symbols on it that show foreign countries what makes America, America. Recently the penny has been under fire by the media due to its relevance in our society. Although the penny has been an important part of American society for many years, it hurts America more than it actually benefits it. This is due to the cost to produce it, and the impact it will have if it is removed from our society.
To start, the penny’s cost to be produced is more than what it is actually worth in America’s currency. This means that we are losing money rather than actually making profit. Maria Story wrote
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about the history of the penny in the article “The Ever-Changing Penny”, in it she discusses the several changes in material that has occured in its history, and the influence it has had on the American Society, in the text she states “ In 2011, is cost the U.S.
Mint more than 2.4 cents to produce one penny” (Story 5). This reveals to us that taxpayers have to pay more than double the value it has in America’s currency. If America produces more than 48 million pennies a year, the people of America would have to pay more money for a coin that is virtually useless in society. Majority of purchases that are done in America are done online or in cash, therefore American’s rarely even use coins, and when they acquire a penny it is from the cash that they get from the purchase. The penny is either left in the holder’s pocket to where it will never be seen again, or it will be stored in a drawer where it will also never be seen again. Moreover, in the text “Penny Wise, or 2.4 Cents Foolish?” written by Jeff Sommer, he debated on whether the penny should be used or not, he had this to say “... the taxpayers- lost $60.2 Million on the production and distribution of pennies in 2011 fiscal year, the mint’s budget shows, and the losses have been mounting: $27.4 million in 2010, and $19.8 million in …show more content…
2009.” (Sommer 3). The penny’s cost to produce has only been rising in recent years, it has nearly tripled in the span of one year. This hurts the American society because taxpayers are paying for a coin with little to no value, whereas the money could be used for projects that could help the American society. The money could be used for projects like fixing roads, funding schools or helping people that are in need. To wrap up, the penny is a coin that holds little to no value, and it is wasting taxpayers money that could of been used for something else. Although there are people that share the same views as this article, there are still people that believe that if we remove the penny, prices of everyday things will increase.
That is an idiotic argument because people would not want to buy something that is more expensive when you can go across the street and buy it for a cheaper price. Jeff Sommer, writer of “Penny Wise, or 2.4 Cents Foolish?” conversed about this issue in his text. He argued “... 99-cent price of pizza might go down to 95 cents rather than $1 to avoid crossing that higher price threshold.” (Sommer 2). If you are in place like New York, there are food places and shops all around, this means that they will all be competing for more service. If someone wants to go buy food at a pizza place, they are going to go to the cheaper alternative because they won’t be spending as much money compared to the more expensive option. The penny should be removed because it will create competition between different companies, and the better companies will be remain in its location. Sommer also states in his article about pennies “A $2.01 cup of coffee should be rounded down to $2…” (Sommer 2). A cent lower on something may not seem like a lot, but eventually it will start to add up on items that will hold a larger value. The retailer will lower the price because they want people to go to their shop for the lower prices on items. This will feed into America’s capitalist society because the best stores will last, while the
weaker/more expensive alternative will go out of business because there is a better alternative to it. In conclusion, the penny will affect the prices of items for the better and feed into America’s capitalist society making it stronger. The penny is an object that holds a lot of sentimental value to America because of how long it has been part of it, but the best option for the penny is to be removed. This is because the penny forces taxpayers spend their own money on a pointless cause, and the penny will affect how a business is ran within the American society. That makes it a good cause because it is only hurting the American society, rather than actually helping us. The penny has been a part of American society for many years, but there are better alternatives to show what American society is as a whole.
The penny costs 1.4 cents to manufacture each time at the mint. This is causing the mint to lose money for the treasury. Last year, the mint earned $730 million dollars in profit. Many mint officials claim the estimation will be about $45 million due to the cost of metals made in pennies. Our country is continuing to have a very strong economy with the stock markets going up. The penny might affect these benefits from the rapid production of these coins. Copper and zinc are the main elements that compose the penny. With the rising costs of these elements, the economy may back up a bit. Because of this, the U.S. mint should reduce their penny production.
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
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, giving the language more idioms to use. It is often said that pennies should not be manufactured anymore due to their excessive cost of manufacturing and distribution. Yes, numerous people do acknowledge that fact, but the government can also propose that pennies are to use inexpensive metal, like steel, which makes the entire coin industry save money and has the cost of coins to be cheaper to make.
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.
The Penny is a wonderful coin. It might only be worth one cent but that one cent can help people in all sought's of situations. The penny should kept in circulation. There are many people that use the penny still in today’s society.
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.
"As of 2014, the cost of making a penny was estimated at 1.7¢. So yeah, it almost costs two pennies just to make one penny- which makes no sense (pun intended)". Over time, many people have called for the U.S. to stop making pennies. Three reasons why are, we have a lot of coins and bills, not many people carry around cash, and making pennies can waste time, money, and minerals. That is why I believe the U.S. should stop making the penny.
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.
One of the main reasons that make people believe we should keep pennies is the fact that it will cause rounding tax. Mark weller claims that “Rounding tax” will cost consumers $600+ million dollars per year. However at the same time keeping the penny is costing businesses $700+ million dollars and they are wasting this money by paying cashiers to count pennies. This has been proven in multiple studies. During one study it had been shown that if the retail clerks and customer spend just 2.5 seconds per transaction counting pennies, those seconds add up to an estimated $700 Million dollars that the business has to pay its workers to count pennies. This is ridiculous! Why should businesses have to pay that much money if people cost their workers time. If you think about it you will see that all of this could be prevented by having the U.S stop producing and distributing
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
The penny is a costly item to make--more than its one-cent value. A letter to the editor by David R. Carroll states, “A penny currently costs the United States government 2.4 cents to mint.”