The Great Penny Debate

[Slava]

Originally Posted by troutman

My "two cents":

Do we even need coins or cash anymore? Seems I use debit for almost everything.

I still carry cash almost all of the time. I use plastic a lot...but I hate not having cash on me.

[CubicleGeek]

Originally Posted by troutman

My "two cents":

Do we even need coins or cash anymore? Seems I use debit for almost everything.

Some Vietnamese restaurants don't accept card for ummm... tax reasons.

[HotHotHeat]

The value of the copper in the penny is worth more than the penny itself.

If I had the means I'd be melting pennies in my basement and selling the copper!

[Canada 02]

Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz

1) The copper idustry is I'm sure providing copper for many things other than pennies.

2) In the OP it says that there is barely any copper left in pennies anyway

3) Even if the copper industry was dependant on the penny, keeping it around for the sake of those jobs, is still jobs for the sake of jobs, and if it's inefficient, the effort should be spent somewhere else.

the fact that the penny is not made with just copper, but other metal(s) as well only increases the number of industries potentially affected by the penny. So it's the copper industry and zinc or nickel or whatever. I would hazard a guess that most of those industries and jobs are in Ontario. If true, then it could be a political hot potato.

[metal_geek]

May as well get rid of the penny.. Hell even the Gas pumps seem to count in 5 cent increments now anyway...

Who cares really, round the difference and make it payable as regular GST.. That way places price thier stuff to total up to the 5 cent equally, so they don't have to submit it as gst and it keeps all the totals nice and even..
________
Genetically modified food

[Resolute 14]

I gave my sister a vase full of 2000 pennies as a prank wedding gift. If you phase out the penny, that gag gets a lot more expensive!

I'd say phase them out. We're long since past the point where they are worth anything.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by HotHotHeat

The value of the copper in the penny is worth more than the penny itself.

If I had the means I'd be melting pennies in my basement and selling the copper!

2 bucks a pound.

I think.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by Canada 02

the fact that the penny is not made with just copper, but other metal(s) as well only increases the number of industries potentially affected by the penny. So it's the copper industry and zinc or nickel or whatever. I would hazard a guess that most of those industries and jobs are in Ontario. If true, then it could be a political hot potato.

Again, those industries are all going to be MUCH bigger than what is supplied to the Mint.

I'm guessing that not building 1 bridge probalby has a larger impact on those mining industries than getting rid of the penny.

1.4 billion pennies were produced last year, so what do they weigh? 1 gram?

So that's 1400 tons of copper (assuming that pennies are 100% copper, which they aren't)
Considering Canada's production of copper is something like 600 000 tonnes a year, so even if pennies were 100% copper then the dip in that industry would be ~ .2% I think the industry could handle it. I'm also guessing that the iron in the pennies would have a similar effect.

[SteveToms]

Get rid of it, its stupid and useless.

[mykalberta]

Originally Posted by fotze

Why would a charity wnat to do all that work when they could just hire a company to phone thousands a people per day. I wish I could get the odd bottle drive coming through once in a while.

No kidding.

Living in a condo and driving a 'nicer car' isnt really condusive to taking the trip to the happy can bottle depot so i saved them for over a year, and nothing, no one asking for them. So I left them outside my dumpster and less than 12 hours later they were gone.

I wish the City had something for bottles for charities, something where you could drop of a few garbage bags of bottles and let charities sort them for the money.

[Salt Water Cowboy #10]

A little off topic, but, I had the Idea that any new hockey facilities should have a recycling depot involved or on site. Then all cans and bottles could be collected for minor hockey. People could bring their cans to the rink when they bring the kids to play. The kids could do a shift or two per season sorting the cans and bottles. Then all procedes could go toward building rinks or paying for expensive minor hockey fees.

Maybe everyone could bring their pennies in too.

[dionfan]

Originally Posted by troutman

My "two cents":

Do we even need coins or cash anymore? Seems I use debit for almost everything.

I always carry a bit of cash with me to pay for the smaller things like a slurpee. It's so much quicker. I hate it when some kid takes out the plastic just to pay for a $1.50 slurpee at 7-11. Just plunk down a couple coins and you're good to go.

It is ncie to have cash cause it might make you think twice about the unnnecessary purchases you might or might not make cause it makes a difference psychologically when you're actually giving out cold hard cash to pay for it rather than a hunk of plastic.

[kevman]

Originally Posted by edn88

... and are nickels really needed? Let's go right to round to the nearest dime...

Apparently when the government got rid of the 1/2 cent many moons ago it had an approximate value of a dime today.

I say we skip dimes too and go straight to quarters! Everyone uses plastic anyways so it won't change a thing and I might finally be able to use my bedside table for something other than storing pennies, nickels and dimes.

[Flames_Gimp]

i've thrown pennies in the garbage for years lol

[Flames_Gimp]

Originally Posted by dionfan

It is ncie to have cash cause it might make you think twice about the unnnecessary purchases you might or might not make cause it makes a difference psychologically when you're actually giving out cold hard cash to pay for it rather than a hunk of plastic.

think so? I blow the money faster when its in my pocket

[SebC]

Originally Posted by Canada 02

for retailers, how would this affect sales? I mean they purposely mark items, for example, $9.99 instead of $10 because there is a psychology behind the way consumers react - they obviously believe that customers will be more inclined to make a purchase no matter how ridiculous the one penny savings really is

If we go to the system most countries use, it would still be listed as $9.99, but you're total rounds up or down to the nearest nickel when you check out.

And (now directed at others) we don't need penny production as a welfare program. With todays prices, mining companies are probably ramping up production as fast as they can anyways.

[albertGQ]

I carry cash, but never coins. I save my loonies and toonies and spend those at the car wash. If I buy something that would result in me getting change, then I swipe my card. I don't care if it's $1.17, I'm not gonna break at $20 bill. I'd rather inconvenient others swiping the stripe.

In fact, it seems like I only spend cash at pubs, clubs, and vietnamese sub restaurants (the prices are even, so its not a big deal). The rest is always MC

[FireFly]

Down with the penny haters! Up with the spare change!

[jolinar of malkshor]

Get rid of the blibbin things.

[REDVAN]

Originally Posted by FireFly

Down with the penny haters! Up with the spare change!

x2

I think that this is just a bad idea- it would probably cause a massive increase in inflation, and I am not sure that's what the dollar needs right now.