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 …show more content…
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…
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
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.
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
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.
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
"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.
Have you ever been in a store and the person in front of the line is holding the line up by having the cashier count pennies. I have been in this situation many times and it gets really frustrating. Although there is a very simple solution to this issue that has occured to many people, and many times, all over the country. And the simple solution that I will bring up today is getting rid of the penny. There are many, many reasons to get rid of the penny and all of them would help the United States of America in the long run. The first reason is that pennies are just not worth it. The second reason is that getting rid of pennies would help the prices go down. The last reason that proves getting rid of the penny would help us is that many other
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.
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.
The United States’ penny has been around for over 200 years, an iconic piece of the country’s history. Along with its design, the penny’s value has changed throughout these years, making the one-cent piece of less worth to this day. Since the penny’s value has declined so much, people have been inquiring whether or not the penny should still exist. The penny should be eliminated because it costs more in both money and time to make them nowadays than they’re really worth. Elimination of the penny will save money for both the government and American citizens.
For instance, in the article “Abolish the Penny (Source 3)”, it clearly states, “Where do they go? Two-thirds of them immediately drop out of circulation, into piggy banks or –as The Time’s John Tierney noted five years ago –behind chair cushions or at the back of sock drawers next to your old tin-foil ball.” Adding on, many people view the penny as a useless currency, and they even leave it in hidden places around their own home. The reason why pennies are sometimes located in piggy banks or at the back of sock drawers is that citizens see no purpose in obtaining them. In other words, it seems as if the penny has lost its fame and glory ever since other forms of currency have been established, such as quarters, dimes, and dollar bills. As explained by William Safire, quarters and dimes seem to circulate more often than pennies, and pennies “disappear” due to their worthless value and troubles. Specifically, the reign of quarters and dimes has overtaken the significance of pennies, and as time passes by, the term “penny” might not even be mentioned anywhere around the United States. In addition, more people nowadays tend to use quarters and dimes for due change, leaving the penny to become less essential for our needs. As stated in Source 3, the British and French have already abandoned their low-value coins approximately 30 years ago. This demonstrates the probable
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.
Between 2001 and 2006, there has been an increase of .6 cents for the reproduction of the penny. This increase displays economic problems that may lead to fatal ones. The penny is composed of 2% copper and 98% zinc. These elements are exponentially in demand causing the price of these materials to skyrocket. Many Americans think the penny is putting our country in jeopardy with financial losses. This meaningless coin is losing money for the mint, and should be abolished.