Issues: Kill the Penny!
Abe, we need to talk. This isn’t working anymore.
I’ve been hiding my disdain for your copper-laden crest for a while now, and have been trying to convince myself that it’s worth having you around… but it’s not. I’m sorry to have given you a false impression, to have carried you with me for so long, but it’s time that we melt down your $0.01 likeness into something that can actually prove useful. I hope you’ll still let me drop by your memorial from time to time. I also hope you won’t mind that I’m using your likeness to win support against one of your other lasting impressions - the penny.
(Grab… Share… Kill)
With all the issues facing the world, you might wonder why I choose to enlist my rage against the humble penny while leaving the lights (and 3 computers) on during Earth Hour. Sure, global warming has the power to create oceanfront property in Omaha and erect statues of Al Gore in every remaining city square, but the penny crisis is here and now, much easier to solve, and — while not life-threatening (yet!) — it’s an incredible waste of time, energy and money.
Want some facts? Check out David Owen’s thorough analysis in The New Yorker today:
- “A penny minted before 1982 is ninety-five per cent copper—which, at recent prices, is approximately two and a half cents’ worth.” (today’s variety - much higher in zinc - cost a mere 70% more than their value to produce at approximately 1.7 cents).
- The Mint produces 70B+ pennies each year, but “sells” them to the Fed at face value, incurring an annual deficit of about $50,000,000.
- During the past 30 years, at least 40% (200B+) of the coins have gone AWOL (200B+)… “the missing change is worth billions. […] Pocket change leaks from the economy the way air leaks from a balloon, and most of what leaks is pennies.”!
And, Abe, you might be the first to fall (after your 2009 face-lift, of course) - but Jefferson’s on the list as well…
Whether or not the United States ever does drop the penny, Congress will presumably have to do something about the nickel, which now costs almost a dime to make.
Perhaps if we can rally the country around tackling a few simple issues, we’ll have a united front for more important and pressing matters in the years ahead. Barack: you’ve said a lot about “change” lately, so it wouldn’t be a stretch to expand your position and become the candidate for changing our change. I’ll await your next speech with “hope”.
[via Freakonomics Blog]
Related information:
- [Video] Should We Make Cents? (60 Minutes)
- What’s a Penny Really Worth? (Federal Reserve of Chicago)
- Legal Tender Modernization Act
- Note to Self: Stop Throwing Out Pennies (Freakonomics Blog)
- The MegaPenny Project (thanks, Ash!)
