Eliminate The Penny? Really?
Added 2025-02-17 20:58:16 +0000 UTCIt's not like we didn't see it coming... but really what does it mean to get rid of the American Penny?
Comments
Keep the penny! We can at least check out tire tread with it!
Heather Sartain
2025-02-23 06:32:10 +0000 UTCAnd then they adjust the prices so everything just happens to round up instead of down.
Circuitmike
2025-02-19 17:20:03 +0000 UTCIf we get rid of the penny, we'll be no better than... CANADA! In other news, this video reminded me that I really, really want to own a penny press machine.
Circuitmike
2025-02-19 17:19:26 +0000 UTCWell said.
MrBelmosan
2025-02-18 18:06:45 +0000 UTCThis would cause a lot of public consternation over hidden price rises. Reminds me of decimalisation back in 1971 - true, dropping £sd for £p was simpler and has had many benefits, but no-one felt better off as a result.
Zygmunt Dean
2025-02-18 16:56:54 +0000 UTCEliminating 5¢ pieces would be a challenge because it doesn't round neatly. The fairest way is round-to-even, so both 15¢ and 25¢ would round to 20¢. This would work in Australia, which has a 20¢ coin, but not the US and Canada. You can of course make 5¢ by paying 25¢ and getting a couple of 10¢ pieces in change, but it means that you may always need to bring more money than you need to pay for stuff. Quarters complicate everything. They were a bad idea. There's a reason why there isn't a $25 bill.
Pseudonym73
2025-02-18 07:03:16 +0000 UTCSame in Australia. When paying in cash, they round to the nearest 5 cents. But most people pay for things electronically these days.
Pseudonym73
2025-02-18 06:52:53 +0000 UTCI suppose it's important to note that these transactions aren't just arbitrary custom. It is the law, similar to how equipment for weights and measures accepted for trade. POS systems were upgraded to align with the law. If someone operates retail trade in a manner that is contrary to this law, it's the same as running afoul of any law regarding trade in the country.
John Verne
2025-02-18 03:24:53 +0000 UTCThat is the trend. I haven't paid in cash or carried cash regularly for over a decade (or more, possibly). I've heard the arguments for maintaining a cash economy but none of those arguments affect me, and it isn't clear to me that a cash economy is the lever we want for the problems it is supposed to solve.
John Verne
2025-02-18 03:09:38 +0000 UTCYou pay to the nearest 5¢
John Verne
2025-02-18 03:07:12 +0000 UTCIn Canada when paying in cash, they round mathematically to the nearest 5¢. Paying with any sort of card you are charged exactly the same as whatever the price is.
John Verne
2025-02-18 03:05:55 +0000 UTCIt would simply mean that most if not all retail establishments would eliminate cash transactions, essentially ending cash.
Fran Blanche
2025-02-18 00:54:01 +0000 UTCSo you pay more if you pay cash?
Fran Blanche
2025-02-18 00:53:03 +0000 UTCNo one rounds down the cost of anything!
Fran Blanche
2025-02-18 00:51:49 +0000 UTCWhen the United States eliminated the half cent, in 1857, the purchasing power of one cent was approximately equivalent to a quarter dollar today. Many countries have stopped making their smaller coins but allow them to be used. Currently in circulation there's about 1000 pennies per person in the US. There are already businesses that don't want to deal with pennies and round cash purchases to the nearest $0.05. If you could pick up one penny every 5 seconds you would be doing it for less than minimum wage.
Michael F Barushok
2025-02-18 00:38:50 +0000 UTCI did not think about this .. you are right they are certainly selling us something....
AlexBrandon
2025-02-17 23:53:32 +0000 UTCIn canada where we got rid of useless pennies years ago, we still have $9.99 prices. If you pay by credit card or debit card, you pay that price. Otherwise when paying cash we round to the nearest 5 cents. This has not been a problem at all.
Lennart Sorensen
2025-02-17 22:55:45 +0000 UTCAnd why are you saying everything rounds up? It's done like in grade school - rounding up and down, as normal.
Erik Blake
2025-02-17 21:41:07 +0000 UTCIt means no more pricing at $9.99
adrian
2025-02-17 21:39:04 +0000 UTCI get your points here. The main thing about coinage is that the face value must be more than the material value (which obviously isn't the same as the cost to manufacture). In the UK, we've been through the currency issues, firstly with decimalisation, then dropping the 1/2p. Note, though, that fuel is priced in fractions of a penny and the total is rounded down or up, to nearest 1p. On banking and money movement, I don’t pay for banking or to move money around. I can move large sums out of my bank in minutes, no charges or questions. I do accept that getting out £10,000 in cash might be interesting though.
Bob Pockney
2025-02-17 21:38:49 +0000 UTCAll calculations are still done to the penny, like now, and if you pay electronically, you still pay to the penny. So, no change there (pun intended). Only cash transactions, on the final total of the bill, get rounded. If you are buying a single item, the store can rig the price, but that gets tricky for a typical grocery basket.
Erik Blake
2025-02-17 21:38:49 +0000 UTCThank you Fran for taking on this subject. Although my favorite Fran thing is taking vintage stuff apart, this piece was worth the interruption.
Donald J Arndt
2025-02-17 21:27:56 +0000 UTCGetting rid of the penny is the only thing I agree with don trump on. It costs more to the economy than it is worth. So far, this is the only thing he has done which is not harmful. The sad thing is that only a dictator who does not care about reelction (because they don't intend to ever have one) could pull it off.
Tony Aiuto
2025-02-17 21:22:30 +0000 UTCWelcome to 1992 in Australia
EEVblog
2025-02-17 21:21:05 +0000 UTCHere in Poland there were plans to phase out cash as well because Big Finance Bro could have a better watch over where your money comes from and goes, but for this reason these efforts were pretty unpopular and we'll stick with virtual and physical money coexisting for a good bunch of years.
Keri Szafir
2025-02-17 21:17:06 +0000 UTC
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