Is This the End of the Penny?

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency ( DOGE ) is aimed at saving the government cash, and one of his current ides would literally put an end to making some of it. On Tuesday, the DOGE X account posted” The penny costs over 3 cents to make and cost US taxpayers over$ 179 million in FY2023,” adding,” The Mint produced over 4. 5 billion pennies in FY2023, around 40 % of the 11. 4 billion pennies for flow produced. ”    

The coin costs over 3 percent to make and price US citizens over$ 179 million in FY2023.

The Mint produced over 4. 5 billion pennies in FY2023, around 40 % of the 11. 4 billion pennies for flow produced.

Penny ( or 3 percent! ) for your emotions.

Sources:https://t.co/Y5LlrpyA62…

— Department of Government Efficiency ( @DOGE ) January 22, 2025

Musk has said that his goal is to cut$ 500 billion in annual federal spending. If my arithmetic is right,$ 179 million is just 0. 0358 % of that, but even so, paying three percent to make one seems kind of inappropriate.  

According to JM Bullion,” there is a growing visit from both members of the public and politicians to abandon the coin as a penny in the US system. Critics argue that, in addition to the ungainly production costs, the quarter causes wasted time for both merchants and buyers to use – and wasted time means lowered performance within the business. Some also worry about the health hazards presented by exposure to metal – specifically to children and pets. ”   The “penny conversation” also has its own Wikipedia page.  

But some disagree. They say that “eliminating the coin and round deals away may adversely affect the poor heavily. After all, if money is tight, the differences between one cent and five cents ( or ten ) add up quickly to result in lower purchasing power and a lowered quality of life. Besides – a significant portion of the American public thinks the coin is an important component of our past. ”    

CBS points out that other countries have eliminated their type of the coin. Canada stopped minting a one-cent gold in 2012 according to manufacturing costs of 1. 6 percent per gold, which led to customers paying around$ 3. 27 million more for groceries each month. The United Kingdom did away with the threepence of the ounce gold in the 1980s, and Sweden, Australia, and New Zealand have since made similar moves.  

Business Insider information that” Despite republican recognition of the penny’s prices since at least the 1970s, efforts to phase out or change the coin have consistently stalled in Congress, making it an ideal destination for DOGE’s performance plan. ” But it points out that DOGE only don’t make the decision. It may require Congress to pass a law that would allow the United States Treasury— which will most likely been led by Scott Bissent under Donald Trump — to lead the United States Mint to prevent minting the cash.      

According to JM Bullion, organic material costs and prices are the two main factors that influence the rising price of minting the coin. Of course, the price of the material goes away, but the coin is always worth the same amount. Exploring technological developments in coin, such as 3D printers, is considered the best solution to doing method with the gold, which has been in flow since 1793.  

But, what say you? If Expand attempt to put an end to the coin?  

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