Other Voices

An example of one who agrees with us:
“Because my staunch support of the war in Iraq has generated such overwhelming reader enthusiasm, it's time to re-establish my contrarian credentials. (Besides, I need a break.) Here's a crusade sure to infuriate the vast majority of penny-pinching traditionalists:
The time has come to abolish the outdated, almost worthless, bothersome and wasteful penny. Even President Lincoln, who distrusted the notion of paper money because he thought he would have to sign each greenback, would be ashamed to have his face on this specious specie.
That's because you can't buy anything with a penny any more. Penny candy? Not for sale at the five-and-dime (which is now a ''dollar store''). Penny-ante poker? Pass the buck. Any vending machine? Put a penny in and it will sound an alarm.
There is no escaping economic history: it takes nearly a dime today to buy what a penny bought back in 1950. Despite this, the U.S. Mint keeps churning out a billion pennies a month.”(William Safire nytimes.com)
     Safire, William. "Abolish the Penny." The New York Times. The New York Times, 02 June 2004. Web. 29 May 2013.

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