Essay On Is America's Penny An Outdated Denomination

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Is America’s Penny an Outdated Denomination?
In the United States, money has always been an integral part of society— enabling the exchange of goods and services. Research shows that the rate of digital and card-enabled transactions is on the rise, but cash remains consumers’ most commonly used method of transaction (Matheny, O’Brien, and Wang 2). Due to inflation, the buying power of the dollar today is much lower now than when it was originally conceived. Coins worth fractions of a dollar have thus decreased in value alongside it. How little can a denomination of currency be worth before it becomes a drain on society? The splitting of the dollar into parts is necessary for making cash transactions. However, the worth of the one cent coin has become so small that many argue that it’s time to retire it. Pennies are produced at numbers greater than those of every other coin combined. Their usage and production has an unquestionably large impact on society. The United States needs to halt the …show more content…

Initially, the power to coin money was given to Congress. They used this power to establish The United States Department of Treasury in 1789 as a part of the executive department. Its head—Secretary of the Treasury— is appointed by the President as a part of his cabinet. It is the treasury’s responsibility to collect taxes, enforce laws relevant to their duties, as well as manage currency, government accounts, and public debt. Coining money is also under the umbrella of their obligations. The treasury physically makes currency through two organizations. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is responsible for producing bills, while the Mint produces all coins. The Mint is responsible not just for making pennies, but also for distributing them to Federal Reserve banks and deciding how many coins to