Despite what the old song says, pennies dont really come from heaven. This means users can store and transact with their coins without interference from third parties such as banks or governments. No. Abolish the Penny Essay - PHDessay.com The penny costs an irrational amount of money compared to what it's worth. The arguments for halting production of pennies basically boil down to the idea that theyre more trouble than theyre worth. Pennies today are worth almost nothing, but they still cost money to produce and consume vast quantities of natural resources. Reduced coin usage linked to the pandemic has already had an impact. Whether you are starting your first company or you are a dedicated entrepreneur diving into a new venture, Bizfluent is here to equip you with the tactics, tools and information to establish and run your ventures. With that in mind, halting production of the penny may be a sensible decision for society as a whole. One of the functions of prices is to provide participants in the economy with information about the scarcity, supply and demand for a particular good. Would love your thoughts, please comment. The Lincoln cent, now more than 100 years old, is by far the longest-running coin in U.S. history. I personally think that we should keep pennies for these reasons. However, he also stresses that even if prices did increase, the difference would be so tiny it couldnt possibly affect the CPI. Another piece of evidence against Lombras claims comes from Canada, which stopped minting its penny in 2013. Millions of pennies are produced every day and sent out all over the country. The U.S. Mint reports that it costs nearly 1.6 cents to product one single cent (Grenoble, 2013). In 2017 it cost the U.S. Mint 1.8 cents to make each penny and 6.6 cents for each nickel. The current cost for manufacturing a nickel is 7.29 cents per coin. Lombra also argued that this small change in prices would trigger an increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The analysis also shows that tooth decay is still the most common reason for hospital admission with 30,000 children and young people aged 0-19 admitted to hospital last year. The new penny, first issued in 1857 with a Flying Eagle design, was about one-third smaller in diameter than the large cent and less than half the weight. "Penny Stock Rules." Many people thought that 2009, the 100th anniversary of the Lincoln cent, should have been the last year of penny manufacture. In fact, during that year the Mint accidentally made 40 copper pennies! Unlike some other foreign governments, the penny remains legal tender in Canada. 2023 Leaf Group Ltd. / Leaf Group Media, All Rights Reserved. Proper citation depends on your preferred or required style manual. In response to this Youtube chat, members of Common Cents, a main pro-penny lobbying group which represents Jarden Zinc Products (a major producer of copper blanks used to mint coins) conducted polls showing that most Americans favor keeping the penny. Some are opposed to change, and others are attached to the penny for sentimental . It will be a lot easier just to keep the penny because then we don't have to tell everyone to change. It doesnt matter. Eliminating the Penny Reflect: Freewrite Now that you've had a chance to read, review, and reflect on "The Penny Debate," record your thoughts and feelings about whether to keep or eliminate the penny. Keep or Get Rid of the Penny? 8 Reasons to Do Either Learn all you need to know about United Airlines seat selection - tips and tricks to get the best deal and a comfortable flight every time. This makes sense. Despite the cost incurred by the Federal Reserve for minting pennies, many Americans still feel it important enough to honor Lincoln's legacy that they keep the coin bearing his image in circulation. It too had very little purchasing power at the end of its life. The US Mint shipped 8.4 billion pennies for circulation in 2017, more than all nickels (1.3 billion), dimes (2.4 billion), and quarters (1.9 billion) combined. Report this Content. This cost includes the metal content and the labor used to produce them. The cost of producing them is higher than face value. Nickels also cost more to make than their face value about $0.07 apiece so the Mint loses even more money on each nickel it produces than it does on each penny. The cent has served the nation well since then, and many Americans view it with affection a sentiment that has grown even stronger since the coin began featuring the likeness of Abraham Lincoln in 1909. We may have financial relationships with some of the companies mentioned on this website. [ 34 ] 5. Accessed Oct. 21, 2020. How To Keep A Penny Essay - 473 Words | Cram All prices would have to be rounded to the nearest nickel. How would removing pennies impact people who primarily rely on cash transactions? Source: Jeffrey Sparshott, The Penny Cost More to Make Than Its Worth, Again, Dec. 27, 2016, The US Mint shipped 8.4 billion pennies for circulation in 2017, more than all nickels (1.3 billion), dimes (2.4 billion), and quarters (1.9 billion) combined. A second reason this should happen is that it is bad for the environment. Top 3 Pros and Cons. Copper, which makes up the other 2.5 . One 2012 survey found that more than two-thirds of the respondents wanted Uncle Sam to keep making them. A nonpartisan organization called Citizens for Retiring the Penny, founded by students at Wake Forest University in 2006, supports eliminating it from circulation. Charities rely on penny drives as an easy way to raise funds, and pro-penny groups argue that the elimination of the coin would have a negative impact on charitable donations. For one thing, consumers benefit from having the penny. The reason why is obvious. Producing the penny costs taxpayers money: In 2021, each penny produced cost 2.10 cents to make and distribute. Most recently, in 2017, SenatorsJohn McCain(R-AZ) andMike Enzi(R-WY) sponsored ultimately failed legislation that would have suspended minting of the penny. Producing pennies also uses a great deal of energy. The elimination of a $58 million dollar annual cost on a federal government running trillion dollar annual deficits each and every year isnt going to move the needle one micrometer back towards fiscal sanity in this country. In 1959, the 150th anniversary of Lincolns birth, this wheat-ears reverse gave way to a likeness of the Lincoln Memorial. Vending machines dont accept them, and neither do most parking meters. For every dollar's worth of coins it shipped out the Mint made 45 . Should we keep the penny. The Daily Iowan. 2022-11-18 [23], Making pennies also has environmental consequences from mining and transportation. And since the Mint produces billions of pennies a year, the government loses millions of dollars annually in the process. Those who think we should keep the U.S. penny cite the following arguments to support their position. While we do our best to keep these updated, numbers stated on this site may differ from actual numbers. The difference between the face value of a coin and and the actual cost to make it is known as seigniorage. CGAA will not be liable for any losses and/or damages incurred with the use of the information provided. Treasury officials reasoned correctly, it turned out that by then, Americans had developed enough confidence in their government to accept base-metal coins, quite literally, at face value despite their reduced intrinsic value. 10 reasons why we should keep the penny - artyrox.com A graduate of NYU, he has an MA in English literature and loves literature from all ages. As the U.S. Mint faces the prospect of having to find more cost-effective compositions from which to make the nation's coinage, the debate about the continued existence of the humble penny is sure to carry on. Most US coins have an expected circulation life of 20 to 30 years, meaning a single penny could be used thousands or even millions of times. Overall, continuing the use and manufacturing of pennies . Should we keep the penny. Rating: 4 (257 reviews) Highest rating: 4. Amy Livingston is a freelance writer who can actually answer yes to the question, "And from that you make a living?" Shops' reluctance to accept cash payments, coins included, has disempowered people experiencing homelessness, who often don . [3], For more on US currency, explore Currency and the US Presidents.. And nickels cost 10 cents to make. 25, 2019, Jenny Gross, "Will the Penny Survive Coronavirus? This not only weighs down our pockets, but it also holds up the line while we mess around counting out coins. Time to Ditch the Penny; It Is Useless and Bad for the Environment Remember to focus on content rather than grammar or mechanics. That's why last December, Congress directed the United States Mint to nd ways to produce our coins more cost-effectively. Citizens to Retire the U.S. Penny cites a study done by Walgreens and the National Association of Convenience Stores showing that handling pennies adds an average of two seconds to each cash transaction. According to Trading Economics, the inflation rate in Canada since the changeover has wavered between a high of around 3% and a low of negative 0.5%. 7 Reasons to Get Rid of the Penny | The Saturday Evening Post Those who oppose keeping the penny say it's not likely that we will identify new ways to bring down the cost of manufacturing pennies. 8 Reasons to Keep It vs Eliminate It," moneycrashers.com (accessed July 2, 2018), Rodney J. Bosco and Kevin M. Davis, "Impact of Eliminating the Penny on the United States Mint's Costs and Profit in Fiscal Year 2011," pennies.org, Apr. Less than forty years later, the mint reduced the weight to 2.67 g and used a composition of 90% silver. A zinc penny weighs 2.5 g. Doing the math, 327 billion pennies weigh 1.8 billion pounds At the time it was eliminated, the useless halfpenny could buy as much as 15 pennies can today. The penny should be abolished because it costs more to produce than it is worth . His mission is to use his platform as an author to bring awareness and perspective on important issues affecting everyday life. Additionally, the United States Mint changed the silver composition and weight of many coins due to the increasing price of silver. It would also cause prices to rise. No, we can't, for some reason. Item 2 (1) The saying goes, "Find a penny, pick it up. (2) All day long People will start rounding up to five cents. However, the fact that this poll was conducted by a pro-penny group suggests that the questions might be somewhat biased toward the pro-penny side. Are culture would be forgotten shops prices . 10 reasons why we should keep the penny. To access extended pro and con arguments, sources, and discussion questions about whether the penny should stay in circulation, go to ProCon.org. Beyond the excess millions the U.S. Mint spends to crank them out, pennies also take up the lions share of the Mints production capacity. You can also make some hand-stamped bling like this . OTC Markets. They come from mines in the earth zinc mines, mostly, because pennies are more than 97% zinc. It is unclear whether the rounding would be up or down. The Mint made nearly 6 billion pennies in 2012 and lost a cent on every single one of them. Accessed Oct. 21, 2020. See Details. Maybe this is another consideration that the U.S. government should look at. The nations earliest one-cent pieces aptly called large cents by collectors were big, bulky pure copper coins roughly the same size and weight as half dollars. However, in recent years, there has been much debate about whether or not we . Many wont even bend to pick them up, as Andy Rooney noted on a 60 Minutes segment some years ago. Along with the zinc, the ores usually contain other metals, including toxic metals like cadmium and lead. The penny debate gained renewed attention when the coronavirus pandemic led to a nationwide coin shortage as consumers moved towards contactless payment methods. Read our guide on how to clean pennies. 3. That makes them a much more cost-effective way to honor Lincoln than a penny that costs $0.018 to mint. Any action you take based on the information found on cgaa.org is strictly at your discretion. [12], Pennies and nickels both cost more to make than their face values, but on average over the last five years, nickels have been made at a loss of 2.58 cents per coin, compared to .65 cents per penny. The army don't think we even need the penny because it too heavy to travel. THE PENNY DEBATE sample essay.docx - " THE PENNY DEBATE - Course Hero View full document. Hardly anyone uses them anymore. The cost of making pennies in 2019 was 1.99 cents per coin. Chicago, Illinois 60654 USA, Natalie Leppard Pennies don't last forever, and the US Mint explains that the copper surface can corrode away after a few years. A few people groused about it, but commerce continued unabated. Commerce continued without any major hiccups, even though the one-cent copper coin suddenly shrunk from a hefty, over an inch in diameter piece of copper that weighed almost 11 grams, to a penny that was less than half the weight and 40% smaller. It's clear that the modern penny is no longer necessary in our financial system. Anti-penny advocates scoff at this argument, pointing out that Lincoln would still remain on the $5 bill, which is actually useful to consumers. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Many foreign nations have eliminated their most minor denominations with almost no impact on commerce or consumer confidence in the monetary system. He believes that knowledge is key to understanding and progress, which he strives to bring to his readers through his work. Want to learn more? She also maintains a personal blog. This is only the opening salvo in the Great Penny Debate, however. New Zealand got rid of its penny and two-penny coins without incident back in 1989, and in 1991 replaced their two lowest paper denominations with coins. Removing the penny would save taxpayers money and reduce unnecessary waste. To be fair, the current production cost is down from the 1.66 cents it cost in 2014, and the continuation of a years-long trend and efforts by the Mint to increase efficiency as well as . We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. It began as a pure copper coin, but when prices rose during World War I, the Mint added nickel to the penny to cut costs. The debate over whether or not to get rid of the penny has been going on for years. In some respects, we can make the same argument for the paper dollar. Accessed April 27, 2023. https://www.procon.org/headlines/should-the-penny-stay-in-circulation-top-3-pros-and-cons/, United States Mint, "United States Mint 2020 Annual Report," usmint.gov, 2021, Brian Milligan, "The Penny Coin: Should We Follow Ireland and Phase It Out?," bbc.com, May 8, 2016, The Harris Poll, "Penny for Your Thoughts? However, overall, the Mint is a profit-making machine. The melt value of a zinc penny is one-half of a cent. Payments made with credit, debit, or old-fashioned checks are still settled down to the cent. Yes, abolishing the penny is worth considering. The debate over whether to keep the penny or discontinue it has intensified since the penny crossed the line of one-cent production cost per penny. For the first 50 years, the Lincoln cents reverse displayed two sheafs of wheat framing the statement of value.
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