Ok, get rid of the penny.

Y

yomama

Moderator
I was in shock when I saw the prices of ammo at Sportsmans Wherehouse went up 2-5 dollars a box in the last two days. I know we have discussed the issues with ammo prices affected by copper use in the war, and China buying all the metals (which we should be doing).

So, let's get rid of the penny. Before I thought it was a stupid idea, but now I want that copper in my bullets instead.

Thoughts?
 
Or let's make the penny out of a cheaper crappier material. I'm thinking wood chips personally... Or maybe tin. :D


Sunday, June 4, 2006
Newhouse News Service

"skyrocketing prices of the two metals used to make the penny — zinc and copper — have pushed the cost of making the coin across the 1-cent threshold for the first time, to 1.23 cents."
 
The penny costs more than it is worth in todays economy. We should get rid of it. In real worth the half penny is worth less today than the half penny was when it was discontinued. Right now just the cost of handling the stupid things is more than it is worth to keep them.

Eliminate the penny. Adopt a dollar coin and eliminate the dollar bill. The dollar coin would easily take the place of the penny in change draws and it is far more user friendly for things like tolls and vending machines. Make the smallest bill a $5 or $2.

The system works great in every other country I have been to. Loosing the penny would be a gain.
 
It would be a harbinger of inflation to completely eliminate a staple currency that has been in use since the foundation of our monetary system in this country.

We'd be a short step away from the activities of 3rd world armpits that constantly re-evaluate their currency value so people don't need a dufflebag of worthless government paper to buy a loaf of bread.

A penny does have value... it's worth 1.23 cents. You wanna devalue it further, then make it out of something cheaper or make it a "make believe" value only represented electronically in your online bank statements and interest payments on credit cards.

[/Resists urge to make this a Ron Paul and Fiscal Policy thread] :p
 
It would be a harbinger of inflation to completely eliminate a staple currency that has been in use since the foundation of our monetary system in this country.
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Like the half penny?

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2006/07/why_keeping_the.html

...Aficionados will counter that the Lincoln penny is almost as much of an American emblem as the Statue of Liberty. Liberty, however, has aged with grace from a shiny copper statue to a majestic verdigris icon. Time and inflation have not been as kind to the penny. When the half-penny was retired in 1857, it was worth about 1/18th of the average hourly wage of a common laborer. The equivalent fraction of today's minimum wage is about 28 cents. Paradoxically, few complained about the elimination of the half-penny in 1857, yet there is so much misguided concern about the loss of today's penny.

If our nation wishes to continue to celebrate Abraham Lincoln, we could always drop the penny and put him on the dollar coin, which could become more common since cash drawers would have an open slot. The United States Government Accountability Office estimates that we could gain potentially another $500 million per year by replacing the paper dollar with a widely used, durable dollar coin. ...
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Keep the penny exactly as is.

It serves as a poor man's gold standard.

Since were on the topic, John Adams should replace Jefferson on the $2 bill.
 
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With inflation as bad as it is, the penny, nickel, and dime ought to be done away with.
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Tell us, just how "bad" is inflation?

(Hint: inflation hasn't been much of a problem for a number of years.)
 
This process is not secret. I suggest researching the issue.
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Oh, I have. And I can provide you with actual statistics to back up my statement........can you? And I don't mean the "fact" that your grandmother's brothers's neighbor's gardener says that eggs and toilet paper have gone up in price in Pigeon Hollow.

If you care to show us any generally accepted satistics which show that inflation is, or has recently been, a problem...........feel free. My guess is that we won't see any.

I guess you don't......pay attention to the price of real money (gold/silver).
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When was the last time that you used "real money" to make a purchase? I'm talking about silver or gold bullion.
 
Not Jefferson!

Since were on the topic, John Adams should replace Jefferson on the $10 bill.
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That's not Jefferson on the $10; that's that statist never-president Alexander Hamilton! Jefferson's on the $2. I'd much prefer Adams to Hamilton, but I'd rather see Coolidge.
 
Getting rid of the penny would mean an instant change in all prices from $X.99 to $X+1 causing at a minimum short term instant inflation.
 
That's not Jefferson on the $10; that's that statist never-president Alexander Hamilton! Jefferson's on the $2. I'd much prefer Adams to Hamilton, but I'd rather see Coolidge.
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Thanks, I stand corrected.

Jefferson's image should be replaced with Adams' wherever found on US currency.

Jeffersons face on Mt. Rushmore should also be recarved into a likeness of John Adams, and Regan's added also.
 
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I paid $169.00 for my Mossberg in 1989. How much are they now?
99bucks bought me a .22 rifle 2 years ago and now the same gun is 129 dollars. I don't think the military is buying up all the el cheapo savage bolt action .22lr.
When a family has to put a gallon of milk on the luxury list of foods it is inflating!
Brent
 
So go ahead and believe what you want to believe. Just keep repeating to yourself that a whole range of foods going up dramatically, and gas tripling in price and gold tripling in price means inflation is low because government says so
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That's now inflation works, or is defined.

Thanks for playing.
 
gunshow
Wow squatch, you get pretty hostile as you sidestep and avoid what people say (such as when you sidestep the issue and ask me the "last time" I bought something with gold). Since you ignored pretty much everything I said, there's not much for me to respond to, however I'll say that I specifically and clearly mentioned how the government numbers are manipulated and you chose to COMPLETELY ignore that issue.

So go ahead and believe what you want to believe. Just keep repeating to yourself that a whole range of foods going up dramatically, and gas tripling in price and gold tripling in price means inflation is low because government says so
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First off, I apologize if I appear to be "hostile". I do get a little irritated when someone talks about "high inflation", and offers nothing but opinion to back it up. You are entitled to your opinion, however I am simply trying to show that inflation is just not a problem at this point, and you have not proven that it is.

I'll say that I specifically and clearly mentioned how the government numbers are manipulated
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Yes, you did "mention it". You offered no proof to back up that statement, so I'll just say that it is your opinion, nothing more.

You stated that inflation is a problem. It has not been, for a number of years, and I asked you for figures/stats to back up your statement. None provided. I will provide some historical inflation numbers for you to prove wrong, if you can:

2007 2.85%
2006 3.24%
2005 3.39%
2004 2.68%
2003 2.27%
2002 1.59%
2001 2.83%
2000 3.38%
1999 2.19%
1998 1.55%
1997 2.34%

As these numbers show, inflation has not been a "problem" for over 10 years.


You stated that gold is "real money". As far as I know, gold bullion is not legal tender in the United States, so I asked you when you last used GOLD to purchase something. You did not respond. Would that be "sidestepping" ?

In order to argue that inflation is a "problem", you need to offer some proof, not just opinion. I offered what I consider proof to bolster my side of the argument. You are free to sidestep, if you like.
 
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Frankly it wouldn't bother me a bit. I'm tired of fumbling around for a couple pennies when the bill comes to $3.27 and the cashier doesn't have a tray. Now if they could just make the dime somewhat larger...
 
they used to have steel pennies at one time.

heres a question for history types what could a penny buy you throughout the history of the US?

maybe we should stop using the penny and just go straight to the dollar that way we can watch the purchasing power of the dollar slide more we can come up with a term for the 100 dollar bill and use them regularly to purchase items and disregard simple dollars. results the same 1/100

1940's
1 cent for an apple,arcades,movies,carnival activities,postcard.
2 cents for a pound of potato's,loaf of bread,pie.
3 cents for newspaper,cherry coke with 2 straws and other fountain drinks.

did people make much back then no. do they make so much today no.

Coinage Act 1792 look it up

When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men living together
in society, they create for themselves in the course of time a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it.

dont want any of those nasty evil pennies mail them all to me be sure to use the usps flat rate box
 
When I was younger I used to keep coins in the fob pocket of my jeans. It wasn't long after that I kept crumpled dollar bills along with them.

One time I made change and emptied out that little pocket and found a fiver.

I do business with most people over smaller sums of money. However, the most common expression I hear in this commerce is, "Can you break a twenty?"

Considering the price of food, ammunition and fuel, I now feel about twenty dollar bills like I used to feel about fives.

Like lots of my friends, I deal for my goods and services in tens and twenties. As a married guy I seldom see a C-note, although my wife routinely uses them for groceries.

I use fives for making change, and lots of ones for coke machines and for leaving a tip for restaurant servers after a meal. (More and more my tip money is fives, as well.) Coins I dump into a jar next to the counter where we sort the mail.

My problem isn't the coinage or the denominations. I simply need more of everything...
 
Discontinuing penny production with copper (what little they use) would not do anything to lowering the price of ammo. There just isn't enough copper being used up for penny production and what little would be freed up would just get bought by the Chinese as well.
 
One disturbing thing about inflation/price increases (depending on your perspective on the gubmint's numbers on inflation) is what happens to common monetary denominations.

The $20 bill has been the staple of American bank ATM machines for as long as I have been alive. I only know of one ATM in my entire city that will dispense $50's if you ask for increments of 50/100/150/etc, and it defaults to using $50's over $20's. I used to live right next to this ATM and used it all the time.

I found that when I would purchase gas (I pay cash for my gas so the retailer doesn't have to pay the credit processing fee, hopefully keeps his profits higher and prices lower), the attendant would be suspicious of any bill that was larger than a $20. He'd hold it to the light and swipe it with a pen to check if it was counterfeit.

McDonalds has gone from having $2.99 basic value meals in the last 5 years to a $4.99 basic meal. If you buy lunch for half a dozen people, you used to be able to do it with a $20. Many McDonalds (and other fast food places) won't allow an employee to accept a bill larger than $20 without manager approval.

My point is: Prices have increased faster than our faith in our monetary system. People don't doubt the integrity of a twenty dollar bill. But fifties and hundreds make them jumpy, even though the costs of modern goods and services are starting to make the fifty the new twenty. In high school, I could gas up with a twenty and still get a Coke for the road. Twelve years later, I need a fifty to join that twenty in order to fill my truck and maybe I won't get that Coke...depends on how dry the tank is.

We can't eliminate the penny because it is an admission of drastic inflation, and because our faith in the higher denomination bills is not present. Transactions involving purchases with bills larger than twenties are uncomfortable and full of suspicion, IMO.
 
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