Pennies that were once created to hold a value of one cent are today more trouble than they are worth and should be abolished for numerous reasons. “Can nobody rid America of this cooper-coated scourge?” (Source A). The penny that “Once, it had swagger” (Source A), is slowly declining in popularity over the years as individuals grow less fond of them.
The amount of pennies that are lost and remain unused is rising quickly in our population.
When you are at a cash register purchasing items and receive pennies back as change how many times do you donate your pennies the small boxes for charities because they are not important or seem useless to you? While donating a couple of pennies is an easy task for most, donating a nickel or even a quarter
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can be harder because they are worth more. At locations with water fountains you tend to see pennies being thrown in them but if you look closely the amount of nickels, dimes, and quarters is fewer because they have a great value. The amount of pennies that are simply thrown away or even sucked up with vacuums is crazy to considers because of the perspective people have on money. Individuals will do almost anything like stealing just to be able have money in their own possession yet people are throwing away pennies. “Flung into the trash by people who think it’s mucky and worthless. Hijacked by cashier’s who assume you’re among the 27 percent of Americans who don’t even keep track of their loose change…” (Source B). It is very evident that individuals no longer care for the penny due to their actions therefore America should begin the process of abolishing them. During transactions calculating totals manually and even distributing tips to a waitress at restaurants can be challenging to some because of the odd amounts. With getting rid of the penny, all of these tasks will be much easier because totals and numbers will be rounded up or down on increments of five which is much easier than those odd numbers (source A). The Legal Tender Modernization Act, proposed by Kolbe was a bill to make transactions easier to where totals could be rounded up or down. The bill would not necessarily ban the penny but make the penny unnecessary (Source A). Bank transactions will also become easier to customers and employees without the pennies because they no longer will have odd amounts to deal with. Doing away with the penny will not only help individuals personally but it will also make the jobs of many much simpler. Considering the amount of pennies being thrown away and the amount of money the economy has lost can be scary.
If pennies are no longer being used as often, are they making our economy lose money? The amount of supplies, electricity to run machines, and labor for those working can add up to be costlier than the economy has profited from money earned back from pennies. If the U.S. take away the pennies they will be saving money from no longer needing the supplies and as many employees and machines. Individuals have tried to brainstorm ways of getting giving the penny a new name for say to make it more popular or try to bring it back into use. Many have considered changing the picture of the penny to maybe try and give things a change, although this could be a good idea the changing of design is not going to differ the amount of money the penny is worth or how often they are used (Source G). The only solution to solving the issue of losing money in the process of making pennies is that they actually become popular again, with taking people opinions on pennies into consideration this outcome is unlikely to happen. Thence, the best solution is to abolish the penny so the economy can save its money and use it to better our
country. Many are still left wondering why the U.S. has yet to get rid of the pennies for good since other countries have already completed the task. “At the G-8 summit next, week, the Brits and the French – even the French! – who dumped their low-denomination coins 30 years ago, will be laughing at our senseless jingling” (Source C). With the amount of electronics being used in today’s generation the issue on pennies is only going to become worse. In time, only a few individuals will actually carry cash but instead use cards that will allow them to no longer have to worry about keeping up with these “jingle uselessly” (Source A) coins. Pennies can be a pest to keep up with and use which is why abolishing them is a great idea to make others’ lives simpler and less complicated.
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
The debate of eliminating pennies or maintaining pennies is a current focus in the United States. Many people think that eliminating the penny would positively influence the United States because the government would not have to devote millions of dollars for pennies. While many other people think that eliminating the pennies would negatively influence the United States because of the rounding tax that would be introduced after the pennies are eliminated. I think that we should continue to keep on manufacturing the pennies because the penny shows how it impacted the English language, it can also help causes that can save lives, and pennies can keep the government from creating the rounding tax which can cost consumers millions of additional dollars.
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.
If you check your pockets, how many of you have pennies in them? Not many people I assume, that is because most people don't carry around pennies anymore. Denver Nicks from Time.com says
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
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.
There is definitely no purpose and meaning in continuing the creation of these worthless objects. All they do to the United States is cause trouble, and they are clearly a bothersome to uphold them in our possession since they barely contain any value. Our economy would be fit with just dimes, quarters, and nickels as our coins. Abraham Lincoln, who was the president represented in this penny, would disapprove having his reputation and honor shown in a futile currency. The government needs to stop producing pennies. They create a loss of money rather than a profit; therefore, these copper cents need to be gone from our economy. What other choice is available? What can these pennies do in order to redeem their glory? It is nearly impossible to convince residents to use pennies once again. The penny has lost its value, and their dignity has become faint to us. It is time to eliminate pennies–for
The distribution of pennies charges for more than it is worth. As reported by, The Ever- Changing Penny “ it cost the U.S. Mint more than 2.4 cents to produce one penny.” (Story). To further explain, it would be ridiculous to create a penny that costs more than it is worth. It will create more of a complication for taxpayers because they are the ones paying for pennies over 1 cent while they should not even have to pay a dime. Also stated from Pennywise, or 2.4 Cents Foolish “ … the taxpayers-lost $60.2 million on the production and distribution of pennies…”(Sommer). This demonstrates that civilians are losing tremendous amounts of money for a coin that is 1 cent. Whereas if they discontinue the production of pennies then this would have never come out of your wallet.
You probably have pennies laying all over your house probably a lot more than you think. Have you ever realized how neglected the penny really is? How often do you take pennies with you when you're out shopping or spend the time to count out the pennies to them to the bank? The penny should be eliminated from the united states currency.