It Really Does Make Cents
Carter Barber
Loughman
English B50
10/17/12
It Really Does Make Cents In Derek Sereno’s essay, “It Just Makes Cents”, he makes multiple points about why our beloved penny should be removed from the currency system. We have all spent countless times digging through our wallets searching for change and waiting for our grocer or barista to give us back the meaningless pennies that will most likely end up in a tip jar or a penny tray. Sereno not only states that the penny no longer has value to society, but is more so of an annoyance to the US Mint system. I believe that society can most certainly do without the petty penny, regardless of the sentimental attachment we have with it. Sereno argues that charities that are centered around penny donations such as, A Penny For AIDS and Penny Harvest, the goals of these organizations will not be damaged. If we eliminated the penny, the next lowest currency would be the nickel. Which in turn would make it much more easier to reach thousand-dollar goals with nickels instead of pennies because nickels are worth five times more than a penny (Sereno 88). Charities and organizations could make easily double of what they would raise if nickels were accepted as the new lowest amount of currency. Another point that Sereno defends is the idea of the rounding tax that comes with the riddance of the penny. The rounding system would be for cash transactions only, but he also states that “plastic transactions” are much more utilized now than they have ever been before (Sereno 88). He researched and found that Robert Whaples, and economic professor at Wake Forest University, stated, “customers gain just a miniscule amount [of money], about one cent for every transaction.” Removing the penny will come with a rounding tax, which will most likely stimulate plastic transactions. But when customers use their credit cards, gift cards, ect., they actually benefit from using them, ultimately gaining money once they make the number of
Loughman
English B50
10/17/12
It Really Does Make Cents In Derek Sereno’s essay, “It Just Makes Cents”, he makes multiple points about why our beloved penny should be removed from the currency system. We have all spent countless times digging through our wallets searching for change and waiting for our grocer or barista to give us back the meaningless pennies that will most likely end up in a tip jar or a penny tray. Sereno not only states that the penny no longer has value to society, but is more so of an annoyance to the US Mint system. I believe that society can most certainly do without the petty penny, regardless of the sentimental attachment we have with it. Sereno argues that charities that are centered around penny donations such as, A Penny For AIDS and Penny Harvest, the goals of these organizations will not be damaged. If we eliminated the penny, the next lowest currency would be the nickel. Which in turn would make it much more easier to reach thousand-dollar goals with nickels instead of pennies because nickels are worth five times more than a penny (Sereno 88). Charities and organizations could make easily double of what they would raise if nickels were accepted as the new lowest amount of currency. Another point that Sereno defends is the idea of the rounding tax that comes with the riddance of the penny. The rounding system would be for cash transactions only, but he also states that “plastic transactions” are much more utilized now than they have ever been before (Sereno 88). He researched and found that Robert Whaples, and economic professor at Wake Forest University, stated, “customers gain just a miniscule amount [of money], about one cent for every transaction.” Removing the penny will come with a rounding tax, which will most likely stimulate plastic transactions. But when customers use their credit cards, gift cards, ect., they actually benefit from using them, ultimately gaining money once they make the number of