Have you ever wanted to throw away a penny? The penny should not be erased from society. The penny is such an important artifact in American history. I think that it should not be erased because it has been a part of our American culture. It is not only just a copper piece you hold in your hand, but a gateway to a historic past. The penny is significant to society. If we get rid of the penny, Our only alternative is rounding to the nickel. Penny elimination would be bad for consumers and the economy, and the alternative to the penny – rounding to the nickel – will negatively impact working class families.
Research by Penn State University Economist Ray Lombra shows that were the penny to be eliminated, consumers would be hit with a multi-billion dollar rounding tax. Also, rounding the nickel would lead to a demand for them, which would make the nickel cost 11 cents instead of 5 cents. With the survey of the FY cost and shipment survey, we would be in debt of another 10. 3 million dollars. The penny aids charities in raising hundreds of millions of dollars each year for important causes and clearly demonstrates the coin’s value.
Charities like the Ronald McDonald Charity, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and The School and Youth programs are all based around the penny. The Leukemia and Lymphoma has countless local groups that rely significantly on the small penny contributions. They collect 150 million dollars worth of pennies collected by school students across the country for their “Pennies for Patients” program. The penny has strong support for preservation, but there are many reasons it should be eliminated. As of 2007, a nickel is worth what a penny was worth in 1972.
There has never been a coin in circulation in the U. S. worth as little as the penny is worth today, although currently other countries have coins with less purchasing power in circulation. The median wage the U. S. being about $17 per hour in 2011, it takes two seconds to earn one cent. Thus, it is not worthwhile for most people to deal with a penny. If it takes only two seconds extra for each transaction that uses a penny, the cost of time wasted in the U. S. is about $3. 65 per person annually.
Which is about $1 billion for all of the USA. Economist Robert Whaples estimates a $300 million annual loss. The Penny is not just a coin. It is a copper piece that leads into a past of America. It has been around as long as every other coin and if taken away it would just leave America in debt. If we leave this history behind by stopping production, how would we get rid of the billions of pennies we have now? No one would want to throw away money, no matter how much it costs. This is why I am fighting to keep the penny.
