Canada drops their Penny, so should America

Canada has made the decision to do away with its puny penny coin, loved by some but an annoyance to many, will be withdrawn from circulation this year because it costs too much to make and is a pecuniary pest, the government announced on Thursday. Ottawa said the penny retained only one twentieth of its original purchasing power. It costs 1.6 cents to produce each one cent coin and stamping out the penny will save around $11 million a year.

Other nations have either ceased to produce or have removed low denomination coins the list includes Australia, Brazil, Finland, Israel, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Britain. The Royal Canadian Mint will stop distributing penny coins to financial institutions later this year. As the coin slowly disappears, prices for cash transactions will be rounded up or down to the closest five cents. Non-cash payments such as checks, credit and debit cards will continue to be settled to the cent.

Many Canadians consider the penny more of a nuisance than a useful coin. They often store them in jars, throw them away in water fountains or refuse them as change. Financial institutions face increasing costs for handling, storing and transporting pennies, over time the penny has become a burden to the economy. "There are 30 billion pennies in circulation and every year they are minting more. It was just one of those no-brainer slam dunks. It's a place where we can save money," said legislator Pat Martin, who has long campaigned for the penny to be abolished.

PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO READ MY POST CONCERNING THE AMERICAN PENNY
 from: Monday, January 23, 2012

The Penny Doesn't Make Sense!

Let it be decreed that the penny when weighed and measured is found lacking. A horrible little thing with no redeeming value. A blemish on the face of America, costly to produce, no friend to the environment, wasting America’s  resources while sapping our productivity. It cost our country billions of dollars,  year after year, this amount of waste is no small thing
           
Coins are designed by the government  to be a simple and efficient medium for the exchange of goods and services. For many years there has been discussions about discontinuing the penny which has become obsolete because of its minuscule purchasing value. The debate against continuing the penny is overwhelming, anyone still supporting it most likely has not given the subject much thought or is simply resistant to change, “the penny doesn't make sense".                                                                                      
 Not only does the government plan to continue making the penny it issued four new versions in 2009. It is not the job of the well paid employees of the treasury  to create collectibles or to pander to small segments of the population by designing coins commemorating or recognizing minor events. At a time that America is reviewing its environmental policies we could also attack the penny for all the energy used to make, transport, and distribute this useless coin
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The penny is a perfect example of our governments inefficiency and waste, and the cost is a burden carried by business. If an employee is paid $12.00 an hour they receive twenty cents per minute. Business simply cannot afford to pay an employee to handle and count pennies, the cost of the labor exceeds their value. According to the “citizens to retire the penny” it cost the Country one hundred million dollars a year to produce the penny, and more then $15 billion dollars annually is wasted just in handling cost.

Small things matter, if our politicians can’t get this right how can they ever deal with important issues like health care . A nickel for your thoughts, how do we bring the penny to a end? Don’t expect the government to do the right thing in a land and world so self-centered, indifferent, and focused on pandering to those who fear change. We need creative ideas to bring about the penny’s final demise, any suggestions?