An Overview

The penny makes no sense

The penny is no longer economically reasonable for America- it costs 240% the value of the penny to make, and also pennies manufactured in or before 1982 are worth 210% the value of the penny, just for the metal. It should be no surprise to anyone that the federal government is in debt, in fact as a country we are approaching a debt of seventeen trillion dollars. If we ended production of the penny, we could slow the plunge into debt, and also make some of it back by melting down old pennies. That is if Congress would change the law outlawing melting them down.
Consumers often view the removal of the penny as a negative for themselves- saying it would cause things to cost more. That is, in fact, false. Many countries have done away with the one cent coin, even US military bases, with no adverse effects to consumers. Think about it, if business have to round to a nickel it means the demise of the $4.99 product. It ushers in a new age of honesty in business, when either consumers save by paying $4.95, or business have to charge the flat $5.00.