Global Influence

Countries around the world have abolished their equivalent of the penny, and sometimes even greater denominations. They have abolished these coins because inflation has caused them to become essentially worthless. Australia discontinued both their one cent  and two cent piece, because they were no longer worthwhile. Sweden went one step further and took their fifty cent piece out (worth about eight US cents today). Finland and the Netherlands also agreed, and no longer accept the EU one or two cent piece.

To the north, Canada killed the famous loonie, still fresh in memory. They stopped manufacturing the penny because it was concluded that the penny cost too much to sustain, both in production costs, and in the penalty on businesses’ and consumers’ time. It also was an issue that their pennies dropped out of circulation all too quickly, forcing them to mint more and more pennies.

The United States faces the same issues as our Canadian friends, but on a much greater scale, not to mention the debt forcing frugality in the government. As our debt grows beyond the 16 trillion mark, 

Ritchie, Joshua. Stack of Coins. Digital image. MintLife Blog. Intuit, Inc., 2011. Web. 30 May 2013.

we need to think about the good of our community as a whole. It has been shown in other countries who have taken the initiative to remove such coins have had a positive impact. A large reason for the holdback on such a cause is because of the thought that it may cause a negative effect upon the economy. This is entirely false, and we need to follow up with other countries and accept the fact of its advantages.