A Penny Saved Is 1.4 Pennies Earned

The price of producing a penny has risen to 1.4 cents.

King, at the end of a piece about the factors in the rise and the government’s frustration with efforts to eliminate the coin, writes:

It would be nice to make arguments about the penny and price granularity, but the explanation for the penny’s existence is not moved by these concerns. We are used to seeing prices with $.01 as the smallest grain; we don’t process below that very well (as Nick Szabo argues) and we’re not inclined either to deal with rounding up as Speed Gibson offers for a way to eliminate the penny. There’s a feeling to the consumer that he or she has been had by this, that it’s a scam, and I don’t think any amount of explanation is worth the benefit of getting pennies out of the till.

For my part? Eliminating the penny is justification for guerrilla warfare.

6 thoughts on “A Penny Saved Is 1.4 Pennies Earned

  1. here’s where MN tic legislators could really put MN on the national map.

    Pass a “rounders” tax on all retail sales mandating all sales amounts be rounded up to the nearest nickel. Mandate further that instead of allowing the extra revenue to fall into the hands of ignorant miscreant capitalist running dog retailers all additional monies will be directed to the state general fund (remember: State is Mother, State is Father!) where it can appropriately and generously be distributed for the necessary building (union) of amphitheaters, GLBT coffeehouses, light rail to Circle Pines and Northfield and of course the many necessary services for “the children”.

    no more pennies in MN! the slogan could be “Go Penny Free!”

  2. As the great economist, Gene Simmons of KISS, once said – save your pennies and you will have dollars.
    In that spirit, I pledge to provide a safe, comfortable home for any unwanted pennies (or other neglected denominations of currency) out there.

  3. And when was the gov’t EVER concerned with cost? So it costs them 40% more to produce a penny. Whose bungling caused the fall of the value of the dollar? (Hint: initials are F-E-D-E-R-A-L R-E-S-E-R-V-E and C-O-N-G-R-E-S-S-I-O-N-A-L D-E-F-I-C-I-T-S). And eliminating the penny will cost us how much because of rounding? Hey Fed Res and U.S. Congress: your gross ineptitude is finally making cents to us.

  4. And eliminating the penny will cost us how much because of rounding?

    Nothing. Do the math.

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