Pennies, Nickels Cost More Than They're Worth
The economy continues to be one of the biggest issues for all Americans, but now it seems that even pennies and nickels are causing us trouble.
At the end of 2007, it cost 1.67 cents to make a penny. And a nickel cost 7.7 cents. In fact, in 2007 it cost the U.S. $100 million to make those two coins.
The reason is simple. The prices for copper, zinc and nickel are skyrocketing. Copper and nickel prices have tripled since 2003 and zinc has quadrupled.
According to Rep. Luis Gutierrez (Democrat from Illinois), “Our coins are contributing to our national debt by as much as the coin is actually worth.”
A House of Representatives committee has been discussing the possibility of using less expensive materials for the composition of a nickel and a penny. They have discussed using steel for the two coins—a practice that occurred during World War II.
So far, no votes have been taken on the idea and already some legislators are expressing concern. They want to hear what the public thinks before making any decisions.
In 2007, the Mint produced 7.4 billion pennies and 1.2 billion nickels. Do we really need pennies? Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said earlier this year the getting rid of pennies made sense to him but he wasn’t ready to recommend it to the President.
Source: CNN
BLOG QUESTION
Do you think the Mint should either stop making pennies or should change over to steel for pennies and nickels to save money?
At the end of 2007, it cost 1.67 cents to make a penny. And a nickel cost 7.7 cents. In fact, in 2007 it cost the U.S. $100 million to make those two coins.
The reason is simple. The prices for copper, zinc and nickel are skyrocketing. Copper and nickel prices have tripled since 2003 and zinc has quadrupled.
According to Rep. Luis Gutierrez (Democrat from Illinois), “Our coins are contributing to our national debt by as much as the coin is actually worth.”
A House of Representatives committee has been discussing the possibility of using less expensive materials for the composition of a nickel and a penny. They have discussed using steel for the two coins—a practice that occurred during World War II.
So far, no votes have been taken on the idea and already some legislators are expressing concern. They want to hear what the public thinks before making any decisions.
In 2007, the Mint produced 7.4 billion pennies and 1.2 billion nickels. Do we really need pennies? Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said earlier this year the getting rid of pennies made sense to him but he wasn’t ready to recommend it to the President.
Source: CNN
BLOG QUESTION
Do you think the Mint should either stop making pennies or should change over to steel for pennies and nickels to save money?
6 Comments:
I think that they should just make pennies and nickels out of steel because I think it would be hard to suddenly just not live with pennies and nickels. They might also be able to lower the prices of copper.
I think they should make nickels and pennies out of steel because it saves money also pennies aren't useless.
I think that the Mint should recommend it to the president. They should make the pennies and nickels from` steel beause it will save money.
I think that the Mint should recommend it to the president. They should make the pennies and nickels from` steel beause it will save money.
I think that the Mint shold make pennies and nickels into steel. If we didn't have npennies and something was $8.77, you wouldn't be able to use exact change. Then, you would have to pay maybe an extra nickel. But if you need 3 cents back, we wouldn't have pennies.
The U.S. mint should continue to produce pennies and nickels, but these coins should be made from cheaper materials. It would be hard to remove pennies and nickels entirely. As less people use coins and bills to pay for things the mint will be able to decline penny and nickel production. People still use these coins often and should still be produced.
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