Pennies Need to Cash Out

By Jonathan Tomczak

We know them, we love them, we save them. But it's time for the penny be nixed.

There is little to no reason for the government to keep the one-cent coin. As of 2012, the U.S. Mint reported it cost two cents to make one penny. 

Eliminating penny production altogether will save the U.S. nearly $1.2 billion over the next decade. 

In terms of the federal budget, these are, pardon the term, pennies on the dollar. However, if any other federal program were experiencing a 2-1 loss, there would be an outrage. This is a simple step Congress can take to lead by example.

Eliminating the penny would also be an immediate boom for business. Purchases could be rounded up to the nearest 5 cents. I prefer this model to what Australia and Holland have done , which is to allow rounding up or down, to guarantee businesses benefit while only minimally impacting consumers. 

The math is very simple: at worst, your bills would go up one dollar for every 25 transactions.

A good economic plan also considers the long-term effects. With these effects  in mind, Congress needs to repeal the law that makes it a crime to melt the penny down.

Once the penny is eliminated, those in circulation will end up at smelting facilities. Not only will this put disposable income in the hands of consumers as they sell their pennies back, but it will also flood the copper market, driving down copper costs. 

Ask contractors what modern houses need, and they will say copper wires and copper pipes. Eliminating the penny could result in driving down housing costs.

Going penniless is not a novel idea. This is not the first time the U.S. has removed currency. The half-cent, 20-cent and thousand-dollar bill have all come and gone with no adverse effects. 

Now too, the penny's time has come.