|
Local politics, the county, and the world, as viewed by Tammy Maygra Tammy’s views are her own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bill Eagle, his wife, his pastor, Tammy’s neighbors, Brady Preheim, Marty Rowe, President Elon Musk, President Trump, Stephan Miller, Mike Johnson, J.D. Vance, Vlad Putin, Ted Cruz, Kamala Harris, Trump’s MAGA followers, or my neighbor’s dogs. This Tammy’s Take (with the exception of this disclaimer) is not paid for or written by, or even reviewed by anyone but Tammy and she refuses to be bullied by anyone. See Bill’s Standard Disclaimer
|
|
THE PENNIES DEMISE
The American penny will be just a memory after November 11, 2025. It was 238 years old. The last penny will be minted that afternoon at the US Mint in Philadelphia, overseen by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Treasurer Brandon Beach. President Donald Trump announced via social media in February that he instructed the Mint to stop making the once-popular coin, citing the cost of production.
The penny costs nearly four cents to mint, more than the coin’s worth. Once valued enough to buy penny candy like gumballs and feed parking meters decades ago, or my favorite grandmas and grandpas would give children pennies to put in their piggy banks. Today the penny is used mostly in coin jars, junk drawers or “leave a penny/take a penny” trays.
The penny outlived its sibling, the half-penny, by 168 years. It’s survived by the nickel, dime, quarter, and rarely seen half-dollar and dollar coins. Despite its demise, the penny will remain legal tender.
For a coin that seems obsolete, its removal from circulation is causing more problems than expected, especially for retailers. Some merchants plan to round prices to the nearest nickel, often a penny or two more. Others are asking customers to pay with pennies to help supply. But in some states, merchants could face legal trouble for rounding up or down.
Additionally, any savings from discontinuing the one-cent coin could be offset by the need to press more nickels, which costs the US Mint more money than the penny.
The move by the president who does not think things out, just gets a stupid idea in his head and then tweets it and then goes into action.
Now there is a penny shortage, some businesses are rounding down, as they feel it’s not fair for their customers to be charged more because of a penny shortage. Even though it will cost companies millions of dollars each year.
It’s not just business which will shoulder the cost of Trumps idea to get rid of the penny. But rounding to the closest nickel will cost consumers about $6 million a year, according to a July study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. That is fairly modest, coming to about five cents each across 133 million American households. Once again Trump is costing the average family money even if it’s a nickel.
Four states - Delaware, Connecticut, Michigan and Oregon - as well as numerous cities, including New York, Philadelphia, Miami and Washington, DC, require merchants to provide exact change, according to the National Association of Convenience Stores
The law covering the federal food assistance program known as SNAP requires that recipients not be charged more than other customers. Since SNAP recipients use a debit card that’s charged the precise amount, if merchants round down prices for cash purchases, they could be opening themselves to legal problems and fines.
The penny was one of the nation’s first coins, first minted in 1787, six years earlier than the Mint itself was established. Benjamin Franklin is commonly credited with designing the first penny known as the Fugio cent. Its current form arrived in 1909 on the centennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth, when it became the first American coin to feature a president.
So, is it wise to kill off the penny? Even though it will cost us more to make nickels? Or will eventually there will be no more 99 cent items only $1.00? Someone will be making a few million more bucks a year.
And the old saying…"a penny saved is a penny earned" will have to be changed to what? A nickel saved is a nickel earned? The results are the same, you will be increasing your net worth by 4 times the original penny amount.
Tammy
|