The Cost Of The Penny Essay

“The one cent piece, commonly referred to as the ‘penny’, has been a part of United States history for over two hundred years.” It’s time for those two hundred years, and counting, to be over. The penny needs to stop being produced to best help the consumer and the government. In “Penny Anti” by John Fund, the economical reasons for getting rid of the penny are listed, as well as alternative solutions to the one-cent piece. In the second article, “The Many Faces of the Penny,” by J. Wendell Shelton, there is a backstory of how the penny we know today came to be. In source three, “The Cost of a Penny,” a letter written by David R. Carroll, the author begs readers to abolish the penny for numerous reasons. And finally, in “Save the Penny--Save the Day!” by an anonymous middle schooler, the student talks about how charities will suffer without the penny. All of the passages believe in the usefulness, or lack thereof, of the penny. However, both articles make valid points for what should be done with our one-cent piece.
In “Penny Anti,” by John Fund, the author explains how our neighboring northern country, Canada, has already cut the production of pennies from its budget. He believes that America should take this route as well. “Pennies are more of a burden than
Carroll, exhorts about how unnecessary the penny is. He uses words such as “complete and utter waste” and “frivolous” to describe his feelings on paying for the penny. He also states, “the Department of Defense...abolished the use of pennies at overseas military bases over 30 years ago because pennies were considered ‘too heavy’ and ‘not cost-effective to ship.’” He goes on to describe that, “when the nation’s military forces won’t even use pennies, that should say something about their worth.” Carroll could not be more correct in this statement. If this nation’s own military has chosen to not use the penny as a form of currency, this country should follow