Question of The Day- Are Pennies Really Needed?
By DB
@dgobucks226 (37621)
May 29, 2018 3:09pm CST
My question of the day is in response to a recent post by Jim Bauer about saving pennies. I noticed in the responses Marlina, who is from Canada, mentioned that their country no longer uses pennies, which led me to this discussion question.
Is it time to rid ourselves of this annoying coin. Sorry about that Jim but I say yes!
There is historical precedence. Back in 1793 the United States actually produced a coin called the half-penny. It was discontinued in 1857 and life went on without a hitch. Which raises this question, should we ditch the penny?
Here are a few observances I made to support my view.
1. I am sure you have been to some stores which have a dish filled with pennies. The idea being if you don't have a penny handy, which is the case with me often, you can take one from the dish to give to the vendor. Wouldn't it be better if prices were just rounded off to the dollar amount? Imagine if your total purchase came to 5.01 and you had no change on you. What a drag it would be to receive 99 cents in change.
2. The penny when you think about it really is not very well-respected. When you see pennies lying around in a parking lot or on the floor of the local supermarket it's enough to make even Rodney Dangerfield feel good.
3. The cost to mint a one cent coin rose to 1.5 cents in 2016. The Government is spending enough money as it is, so why keep the penny around? Maybe it is time to take a cue from our politicians from 1857 and retire the penny. What do you think?
Heads or Tails...Is it time the U.S. got rid of the 1 cent coin?
Yes - No - Not Sure
Some info- Wikipedia
Photo- youtube.com
15 people like this
14 responses
@Starmaiden (9308)
• Canada
29 May 18
Being from canada where the penny hasn't been in circulation for several years, I say it totally sucks. The penny may be rendered useless, but unfortunately retail services still price their items to the nearest 'cent' instead of dime, quarter or nickel. Instead of a product being priced $1.50, .25, .05, .10, or .00, they are priced $1.49 or anything that doesn't divide equally into "5". If we pay with cash, we lose money and the retailers make money off of our loss.
5 people like this
@andriaperry (118793)
• Anniston, Alabama
29 May 18
I just put mine in the bank, I rolled $38 in pennies I had saved.
4 people like this
@dgobucks226 (37621)
•
31 May 18
The phrase a penny saved is a penny earned would definitely apply to you Andria, lol.
@AKRao24 (27422)
• India
29 May 18
That is a very interesting and practicable discussion! In India we don't have any piasa which is a basic unit in circulation now! for that matter all coins under rupee one are standing cancelled today as they are very costly to mint for their worth. In our country any thing that ends in paise....more than 50 than it is rounded off to next rupee and if it is less than 50 paise it is rounded to lower rupee while billing and even banks follow the same rule!
2 people like this
@AKRao24 (27422)
• India
29 May 18
@Daelii , I think that is the practicable way of thinking! Unfortunately our one rupee coins made up of stainless steel used to smuggled to Bangladesh where they were used to prepare Razor blades. fro one rupee they used to earn 3 to 4 times more money! Now since the racket has been exposed...such activities are minimized!
@dgobucks226 (37621)
•
31 May 18
That is very interesting and seems an efficient method to use.
1 person likes this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
29 May 18
Because we use these, we would say yes. When we see one on the ground, we always pick it up, so that must mean they are still important to us.
2 people like this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
31 May 18
@dgobucks226 That alone makes it worth having a penny in your pocket!
1 person likes this
@dgobucks226 (37621)
•
31 May 18
Yes, most people will not turn down free money. Besides they may need that penny to avoid getting back 4 more on their next purchase 
1 person likes this
@dgobucks226 (37621)
•
31 May 18
I for one would not miss them! I just found one laying there on the floor while shopping. I used it to pay for the items I purchased or else I would have gotten back 4 more, lol.
@LadyDuck (502491)
• Italy
31 May 18
@dgobucks226 I have never seen a price set to x.01, everything is x.99 at best.
1 person likes this
@dgobucks226 (37621)
•
31 May 18
Maybe it does not have to always be in their favor. Perhaps 5.01 could be rounded to 5.00. Many stores in the U.S. have actually not charged me the additional cent rather than giving out 99 cents in change. Thus, the need a penny tray many stores use to help out penniless customers 
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21845)
• Canada
1 Jun 18
I am an American who happens to live in Canada. Canada loves the lack of pennies. And so do I. I think its time for the US to do the same. Of course every state will have to change their stores cash registers but it didn't take Canada long to love the lack of pennies and the one dollar bill either...Now our dollar is a coin.
@dgobucks226 (37621)
•
31 May 18
Find a penny
pick it up
all day long
you'll have good luck.
1 person likes this
@FayeHazel (40230)
• United States
30 May 18
Hm. I would vote no if it weren't for the fact of cost of manufacturing is actually higher than the coin.
As @andriaperry put it - they do count up over the years.
Interesting about the half cent. I like the looks of those. I also like the now defunct 2cents and 3 cents pieces
If a "round up" is enacted - I would hope it's to the next 5 cents, not $1. lol.
1 person likes this
@peachpurple (13961)
• Malaysia
4 Jun 18
@dgobucks226
yeah, should transfer them to a container
1 person likes this
@dgobucks226 (37621)
•
31 May 18
They way it works now we do. My pockets get awful heavy with all those pennies in there 
1 person likes this
@porwest (112876)
• United States
29 May 18
There are certainly pros and cons. One of the biggest ones for me besides the minor point of accounting I mentioned in response to your comment in my own discussion, is that rounding up is essentially a "tax." Or maybe we should just call it a surcharge. Those surcharges add up to big, big money over time. What's worse is that when we are paid at our jobs we're not going to have our money rounded up...I don't think. So we will lose money on the front end and spend more on the back end.
As I watch a penny jar fill, it is clear to me how quickly pennies add up, and that when you look at the bigger picture a penny is worth quite a lot more than people think it is.
There are 323 million people in the United States. Take just one cent from each pocket a day for 365 days a year and that adds up to $1.18 BILLION. Yes, with a B.
Remember the old saying, "It's the little things that count." When you apply it to money, it;s the numbers after the decimal that add up to the most ultimately, and are so easily ignored or discounted as to their true value.
1 person likes this
@dgobucks226 (37621)
•
31 May 18
Yes, I understand your points. A penny saved is a penny earned as Ben Franklin would say. I still would prefer 1 nickel to 4 pennies in my pocket. Another reason I just thought of, I could save a few cents on the penny jars I do not have to buy.
I guess I'm looking at the big picture, shame on me 
I guess I'm looking at the big picture, shame on me 1 person likes this
@mlgen1037 (29882)
• Manila, Philippines
29 May 18
We have coins here and they are good for buying candies and other stuff. But I do not know if that would even have relevance to the pennies you have there.
1 person likes this
@dgobucks226 (37621)
•
31 May 18
Many years ago when pennies were more relevant one could actually buy penny candies. Today, you probably need one dollar
1 person likes this
@mlgen1037 (29882)
• Manila, Philippines
31 May 18
@dgobucks226 It sure is with the inflation and all, pennies would not worth much.
1 person likes this
