How much does this save the government as a percentage of total spending?
How much will this cost the government vs. how much it saves?
How much will this cost businesses in the US in total compared to the amount saved by the government?
How much will this increase costs to consumers, given that businesses will (barring legislation) inevitably round up to the nearest $0.05?
aaronbaugher · 3h ago
It seems like I've been hearing about a new plan to get rid of the penny every few years for my whole life, and I'm 55. Probably every administration spends a few million studying it and then either decides "Nah" or just never gets around to doing it. I don't care, personally, but I suppose it'd be better if they went ahead and did it so we could stop paying people to plan to.
seanmcdirmid · 2h ago
I haven't touched cash or coins in awhile, so I'm not really sure what the big deal is anymore. Its like trying to polish a dying mode of payment in its waning days, rather than tackling what comes next for people who don't want to use debit/credit cards.
JohnFen · 3h ago
This is one of the small handful of things I actually agree with the administration about. We should have eliminated the penny years ago.
OutOfHere · 1h ago
For what it's worth, from the article:
> Even if the Mint has to make only 850,000 additional nickels in 2025 to meet demand, that would wipe out any savings from eliminating the penny. If the Mint goes back up to making 1.4 million nickels a year, that would cost $78 million more than any savings from the pennies it stopped producing.
JohnFen · 1h ago
Yes, of course I read the article.
WarOnPrivacy · 4h ago
I'd like to see pennies and nickles go away. I wouldn't auger an entire nation into the ground for it but on it's own, I think it serves us.
Seeing compulsive $xx.99 marketers adapt to pennylessness could be amusing.
deeg · 4h ago
This is one of the very few things I agree with the administration. I d be fine with dimes going away, too.
JohnFen · 2h ago
Unlike pennies, I use dimes enough that I would prefer they be kept around. Rounding prices to the nearest penny is OK. Rounding to the nearest quarter, less so.
WalterGR · 1h ago
$xx.95. I already see that not-infrequently.
Arnt · 4h ago
We did it in Norway, many years ago. Buy a few apples and something that costs x.99, the sum is then y.53 or z.17 and it's rounded to a sum that can be paid with coins. End of story.
WalterGR · 2h ago
Rounded up, I assume?
duxup · 4h ago
This is one of those PR "efficiency" things that I'm kinda skeptical about how much it even matters.
How much does this save the government as a percentage of total spending?
How much will this cost the government vs. how much it saves?
How much will this cost businesses in the US in total compared to the amount saved by the government?
How much will this increase costs to consumers, given that businesses will (barring legislation) inevitably round up to the nearest $0.05?
> Even if the Mint has to make only 850,000 additional nickels in 2025 to meet demand, that would wipe out any savings from eliminating the penny. If the Mint goes back up to making 1.4 million nickels a year, that would cost $78 million more than any savings from the pennies it stopped producing.
Seeing compulsive $xx.99 marketers adapt to pennylessness could be amusing.