Claim of Policy Should We Abolish the Penny

Should We Abolish the Penny?

The standard Abraham Lincoln penny has been around for almost one hundred years. It was created in 1909, because that year was the centennial (hundred year anniversary) of Lincoln's birth. People have many opinions about the penny both good and bad; however, the notion of not needing it is true and justifiable. What follows are, statistics, evidence, and results of a survey to support this claim.

The penny is known for its copper features, and being worth a cent. The composition of the penny is not only copper, because other metals are used to make it. The penny is made of 97.5% zinc, and 2.5% copper. Zinc is a cheap metal but the total value of the penny is over a cent. There is eight tenths of a cent of zinc and three tenths of a cent worth of metal in an actual penny (1). These figures added up equal 1.1 cent and it is even higher when actual labor is included in the equation. America is losing money on every penny that is made. It does not take a business connoisseur to know something isn't needed if the value is worth less than the construction. Why waste money on something not needed? America has enough problems, and wasting money should be our last desire, especially if pennies are worthless.

In our economy, there is barely anything that cost one cent. Yes, pennies help us to pay in exact change, but if there are only a handful of items that cost between one and four cent, those items should be sold in bulk equaling a nickel. Thus, the price on an item should be rounded to the nearest five cent. Yes, five pennies equal a nickel, but why should a person waste that much space in there pocket or change pouch? Pennies waste space and create the illusion of having money. In our society, it takes about a dollar to buy something useful. There aren't many people that carry a dollar worth of pennies on them, so if merchandise was rounded to the nearest nickel what would be the point of pennies? When I was child, I loved pennies and felt I could buy the world with them until I was old enough to go to the store to use them. I thought I had a pocket full of money and I tried to buy everything, but I was sent home empty handed. Most children who have pennies think the same way I did. However, it's not nice to have a child thinking they have something when they really don't. Furthermore, going through the situation I went through and now knowing how valueless pennies really are, I often throw them away for good luck.

I'm not the