Penny Pros And Cons

I will be writing in support of USU.9 Currency Overhaul for an Industrious Nation (COIN) Act. This bill does a multitude of things, the first thing that it does is it will change the design of the two-dollar bill every five years. The second and most important is that it will require each transaction to be rounded to the nearest five cents, ultimately eliminating the penny. The third is that it will set a date when all one dollar bills will be discontinued and no longer allow new bills to be put into circulation. This bill will also require a study to be done on the more cost effective composition of metals for current coins. This bill will also require a study to be conducted on the effects of a sudden decrease in use of circulating coins

The Department of Defense recognized the uselessness of the penny so they abolished the use of pennies at overseas military bases more than 30 years ago. Now, instead of using the penny these bases use the round up and round down method. The reason these bases abolished the penny is because the penny is “too heavy and not cost-effective to ship.” (4) This is also true in the United States as well. The penny has become completely obsolete and is no longer cost-effective to ship across the country. It is time we follow the lead of these military bases and abolish the penny to maximize the cost-effectiveness of our

This has been proven to be false; and in actuality the elimination of the penny may result in a net gain for consumers. With the elimination of the penny prices will be rounded up in some cases, however in other cases they will be rounded down. This will ultimately equal out and will not cost consumers more money. Also, it will result in a net gain for consumers because based on a study conducted in 2006, the time that will be saved in handling the pennies is worth about $730 million per year. (6) Furthermore, the studies that have shown that the presence of a rounding tax will increase prices are a myth. These studies were funded by the zinc industry in an effort to maintain the circulation of the penny in the economy. Also, we can look to other countries that have eliminated their one-cent currency such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand with no ill effects. (1) From this evidence I can conclude that the fear that the elimination of the penny may cause unforeseen consequences is completely irrational. With these different countries as examples, it is quite clear that there are no unforeseen consequences. This criticism that has been proposed, is a myth perpetrated by those that have a vested interest in the continuation of the penny. However, from the evidence provided it is quite clear that this criticism is wrong, and the penny costs more time and money than we should be willing to