Do we really need the penny
anymore? Would you stop to even pick up a penny off the street? Probably not
yet it is United States Currency. There
was a poll that said that people actually throw their pennies in the trash. So,
is our United States Mint spending millions of dollars to make trash? People
just do not want to carry them around anymore. According to the Treasury
Department, private businesses are free to prohibit payment of bills in
pennies. Some businesses are avoiding the penny altogether. They are choosing
to round down a bill to the nearest nickel in the customer’s favor just to
avoid those little brown things.
People don’t even care. They say
whatever is easier is fine. Meanwhile there is a penny lobby in Washington and
a focus group in defense of the penny called Americans for Common Cents. The
lobby only spent $140,000 in defense of the penny and that is because the
company Jarden Corporation makes the zinc circles that will then be pressed
into the penny form. The company makes more money from its other products like
class rings, Yankee Candle and crock pots. The only ones in favor of the penny
are coin collectors. Lincoln has the five dollar bill does he need the penny
too? The Mint has admitted that there is no cheaper way to make the penny. No
other metal is so worthless.
Canada, New Zealand, Australia
and Ireland all got rid of their pennies. It wouldn’t be the first time the
United States got rid of a coin either. We used to have the half penny. We
dropped that in 1857. Maybe we can even vote on it in the next election. We
should vote on something important.
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