The New York Times “Insider” column has uncovered another example of government being penny-wise and pound-foolish — as long as it’s what “the people” want. It costs 1.43 cents to make a penny. The federal government spent $39 million more than their face value to make pennies last year. Except to use cents to trick us into thinking something is cheaper than it is — that is, that $4.99 is significantly less than $5 — people don’t use the coin any more. But a poll in 2014 showed that 71 percent of respondents pick up pennies they see on the sidewalk, and 43 percent would be “disappointed” or “angry” if the government stopped making them.
You can do a lot with $39 million a year. Would it help debate on this important issue if everyone knew that Canada and the EU stopped using their penny coins years ago.