Why Are Pennies So Popular
The penny, the smallest coin in the U.S., that honors president Abraham Lincoln, is now essentially worthless. Back not too long ago, it was possible to go the store and get a whole bag of candy for a nickel, or a chocolate bar for a penny. But now that is no longer possible. Nowadays the price of everything is much higher than it used to be, which means that small amounts don’t go as far. As source C explained, there used to be penny-poker, penny candy, and five and dime stores. Now, penny poker would be played with dollar bills, penny candy could cost you a couple hundred pennies, and the five and dime is a “dollar store”. The value of money has dropped leaving everything more expensive. As source C states, “it takes nearly a dime today
…show more content…
But pennies instead of being worth have actually shown to start making people lose money. Why? Because it costs more to make a penny than they are worth, and hunting for pennies in your wallet or purse can take time, and time equals money. Source B quotes a study from The National Association of Convenience Stores and the Walgreens drug store chain that proves the point that pennies are actually causing people and businesses to lose money instead of gain. The study tells about how long a transaction takes place and adds a short amount of time the consumer spends looking for a penny in his wallet. They then take this time and multiply it by a reasonable number of times the consumer would visit stores. The study then continues to multiply out until it reaches how many hours per year people spend wasting time looking for pennies. Then they say that, “If each person’s time is worth $15/hour then we arrive at the conclusion that each person is losing $60 per year, at a cost to the nation of over $15 billion per year….” Fifteen Billion Dollars a year is a lot of money, and losing it all because of the penny is reason enough to start phasing it out. The U.S. is already trillions of dollars in debt, so getting rid of the penny would not get the U.S. out of debt. But if phasing out the penny could save $15 billion a year for the U.S., it would be a good
But pennies instead of being worth have actually shown to start making people lose money. Why? Because it costs more to make a penny than they are worth, and hunting for pennies in your wallet or purse can take time, and time equals money. Source B quotes a study from The National Association of Convenience Stores and the Walgreens drug store chain that proves the point that pennies are actually causing people and businesses to lose money instead of gain. The study tells about how long a transaction takes place and adds a short amount of time the consumer spends looking for a penny in his wallet. They then take this time and multiply it by a reasonable number of times the consumer would visit stores. The study then continues to multiply out until it reaches how many hours per year people spend wasting time looking for pennies. Then they say that, “If each person’s time is worth $15/hour then we arrive at the conclusion that each person is losing $60 per year, at a cost to the nation of over $15 billion per year….” Fifteen Billion Dollars a year is a lot of money, and losing it all because of the penny is reason enough to start phasing it out. The U.S. is already trillions of dollars in debt, so getting rid of the penny would not get the U.S. out of debt. But if phasing out the penny could save $15 billion a year for the U.S., it would be a good