Cost to produce & distribute a penny
Along
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Recently Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen appeared before a House subcommittee to talk about the economy, Presidents budget, and the penny. The U.S. Mint shipped more than 8 billion last year, and each one cost more to produce than it was worth.
Representative Mark Pocan (D. WI) asked, “are we still gonna keep the penny?” To which Yellen replied, “I don’t think there’s active consideration of getting rid of the penny.”
My question is why do we continue to pay ~$0.02 to produce and distribute $0.01?
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The cent must be discontinued except perhaps in a set for collectors. If that happens then it should be minted in the old copper alloy. And to get the dollar coin circulating the dollar bill must go, to.
Because the people who vote choose candidates who support it.
Why do you care? The mint makes millions every year on the dime and quarters, not to mention the millions it makes selling the limited production issues to the flippers. The tiny loss is more that eclipsed by the huge profits.
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
It's probably the zinc producers that will dictate the fate of the cent. Therefore, unfortunately it will be with us for a long time.
You might actually look up the numbers. Historically, the Mint loses money on their commemorative coins.
In years past perhaps but how much do you think will be made on the 2021 dollars that are being released this year.
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
As a tax payer and a person who is fiscally responsible, I do care.
News flash every road loses money for the gov, yet they keep building them. Maybe there is more at play than just your “I don’t need it”? Re-baselining the economy to 5c incriminates will be a pain, zinc mines support lots of jobs and there is a nostalgia for them. Lots of politicians don’t touch lots of good idea due to constituent nostalgia.
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The cent shall continue as long as such issues are controlled by politics and not business principles. Cheers, RickO
I would never incriminate a poor innocent coin.
You don't have to re-baseline the economy to 5 cent increments. You could revalue the cent at 2 cents, for example. You could also just round. Italy did this for decades because it was 1500 Lire to the $1. There was nothing under 100 Lire.
As more and more commerce goes digital, there is less need to make change anyway. I can charge $19.97 and not worry about the 3 cents.
We're closer to 10 cent increments than 5 cents, if you look back just 60 years. Back then, a penny had the same buying power as 9 cents does today, yet nobody freaked out because there were no 1/10 cent coins to make change.
I really don' t think cents count as money anymore. People throw them on the ground when they get them in change. They don't do that with $20 bills (yet)
I will bet that almost everyone here is a taxpayer, don't lose sight of the forest by fixating on one tree. If you want to be fiscally responsible then write to your state representatives and voice your displeasure over the trillions of dollars that are wasted each year on unnecessary government programs and wasteful infrastructure spending. Or are you under some illusion that eliminating the cent (and the many jobs it supports) is somehow going to reduce the taxpayer's burden.
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
Production of the cent at a loss is but one minor symptom of a much bigger disease.
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Canada did away with their penny in 2012 I believe. Some countries in the EU are not actively using the 1 and 2 euro cent coins and are rounding to the nearest 5 cent. So I think in the future sometime the US will probably do away with the penny or perhaps revalue the coinage (for example the penny is worth 5 cents, nickel 10 cents, dime will get new name and be worth 20 or 25 cents and the quarter could become the new dollar coin and we get rid of paper dollar at the same time).
Eliminating the cent won't happen as long as we still have a fiscal system involving cash and 50 individual states with varying amounts charged for sales tax. As to the dollar coin, we're never going to make one work in this country unless we do what Canada did and stop making $1 notes. As to job loss from eliminating the cent, they would no doubt still be included in proof and mint sets and made available in rolls, just as it is with the Kennedy halves and Sac dollars today. Plus the people striking the one cent coins also strike other denominations...so the job loss would be minimal if there is any. I don't recall any major job losses when they quit making halves for circulation,
RIP Mom- 1932-2012
There's a big difference between "eliminating" the one cent coin, and simply not making (or making fewer) new ones.
If coinstar- like devices would buy them from people's jar, can, and bag stashes for something like $1.05 per hundred, billions would flood in.. at far less cost than new ones.
of course, human nature being what it is, lots of "clever" folks would then buy them from banks and stores to turn in, which would defeat the whole purpose.
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