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.\u00a0 It costs 1.43 cents to make a penny.\u00a0 The federal government spent $39 million more than their face value to make pennies last year.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n
You can do a lot with $39 million a year.\u00a0 Would it help debate on this important issue if everyone knew that Canada and the EU stopped using their penny coins years ago.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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.\u00a0 It costs 1.43 cents to make a penny.\u00a0 The federal government spent $39 million more … Continue reading