I read somewhere that there is a lobby group that's preventing the government to remove pennies from circulation. I think they're related to copper/zinc which explains why.
The US Mint lost $69M making pennies last year
121–130 of 223 posts
Re: The US Mint lost $69M making pennies last year
#122Earlier quoted context omitted.
The problem with all prices being shown inclusive of tax is that the amount of the tax becomes forgotten over time. By having tax added and called out on the receipt at the register, everyone is reminded many times per day how much sales tax they're paying.
Additionally, sales tax is sometimes not required, either because the product or the reason for purchase is exempt. Computers can deal with the latter, signage can't.
For bricks and mortar stores, if the majority of people due to pay the tax are capable of rounding up a posted price of $fee + tax, the minority eligible for tax exemptions are capable of rounding down a posted price of $fee - tax
Might be a little different for online stores where tax can't be calculated until they know which of the many different local tax codes the sale is being made under, but as you've already noted computers can handle updating the price before people confirm the purchase.
Re: The US Mint lost $69M making pennies last year
#123Really should just remove the whole second decimal. Get rid of pennies nickels and quarters. Only need dimes and half dollars. No rounding, we just limit ourselves to tenths of a dollar.
I like the idea of a system that would allow only 2 coins - .5 and .1 - to function properly. However it could potentially mean removing the quarter from circulation completely, unless the holder is willing to sacrifice 20% of its value or has two of them.
Re: The US Mint lost $69M making pennies last year
#124Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've moved beyond that. I discard all change, ruthlessly. If there's somebody nearby who wants them, I give them the whole handful of change. Otherwise it all goes in the trash on the way out of the store. Used to wear holes in my pants pockets, get stuck in dryer etc. Cost more than it was worth, in wear and tear, and in emotional energy to manage it. You can't imagine the freedom you feel when you discard your firs…
> You can't imagine the freedom you feel when you discard your first handful of change! I get this from gambling, actually. A $20 haircut or $30 dinner feels like nothing compared to blowing $2300 at a casino so I never complain about petty expenses. It annoys me to hear people in my life (who have healthy incomes) complain about the costs of things or talk about saving a few bucks at costco. It just doesn't matter.…
Wait, obviously not everyone in your life is losing $2300 at a casino regularly right? So to them a few dollars might be important?
A $30 dinner every day is $11k at the end of the year.
Re: The US Mint lost $69M making pennies last year
#125Earlier quoted context omitted.
You are forgetting sale tax which changes the final price (if there exists tax is your region)
Then if we could pass a law mandating that prices be displayed inclusive of sales tax, that'd be great. One of my favorite parts about going to Europe is being able to add up prices in my head and have it match up exactly with the final total. The US system is nonsensical and shouldn't be used to justify other nonsensical policies like the continued use of the penny.
The problem is that there are a lot of situations in which tax is exempt and/or variable depending on the customer.
i.e. Joe Sixpack is going to pay 7% on his loaf of bread, but Jane Wicstamps buying the same loaf of bread with food stamps does not get charged any tax.
Additionally, some municipalities will do things like say there's a general 7% sales tax on everything, except groceries, which are taxed at 2%...until next year, when the general tax goes up to 8% and the tag on literally every item in the store needs to have the price adjusted.
Re: The US Mint lost $69M making pennies last year
#126Earlier quoted context omitted.
Then if we could pass a law mandating that prices be displayed inclusive of sales tax, that'd be great. One of my favorite parts about going to Europe is being able to add up prices in my head and have it match up exactly with the final total. The US system is nonsensical and shouldn't be used to justify other nonsensical policies like the continued use of the penny.
The problem with all prices being shown inclusive of tax is that the amount of the tax becomes forgotten over time. By having tax added and called out on the receipt at the register, everyone is reminded many times per day how much sales tax they're paying.
Nothing is stopping you from having the computer back-calculate the tax and display it on the receipt. I seem to recall the ones I got on my last European trip showed the VAT as a separate line item despite the price tag including the VAT. I mean, isn't that the whole point of having an electronic POS.
Re: The US Mint lost $69M making pennies last year
#127They should sell ads on the back of the penny. "A Penny Save is a Penny Earned - Chase Bank" A durable, historical, innovative new channel that also makes minting pennies profitable. Everyone loved collecting those state quarters they made a few years back. Of course, if this is successful we can move upstream to other coins and eventually dollar bills. Alternatively, we could allow rich people to put their face on t…
This is one of the best terrible ideas I've ever heard.
Re: The US Mint lost $69M making pennies last year
#128Earlier quoted context omitted.
No. Most purchases are not made with cash and fewer people are using cash every year. You're basically saying that all consumers should pay more with every purchase so that the mint can make https://www.frbsf.org/cash/files/figure-3-2015dcpc-share-of-...
You're basically saying that all consumers should pay more with every purchase so that the mint can make I basically said what I said. I want all consumers to pay more so I don't have to have pennies rattling around everywhere, which I eventually accumulate to the point that it's worth going to bank to get rid of them. Pennies: the busy-work of finance.
Coins: the busy work of business, that's why they mostly switched to credit cards, for similar logic you're using regarding pennies.
Stores don't typically raise their unit prices when they decide to accept credit cards; they benefit from efficiency (and lack of theft) and receive more volume in sales as a result.
Re: The US Mint lost $69M making pennies last year
#129The point of the mint is making money, not making money.
Yeah, the headline seems dumb. If the mint creates a $100 bill for $1.50, did they make $98.50? No. The purpose of the mint is to maintain the US currency. It's a cost center, not a profit center.
For some acceptable price yes. This isn't unbounded though. At some point they most certainly would stop producing a unit of currency if it cost way too much vs it's value.
Re: The US Mint lost $69M making pennies last year
#130Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wonder where these people live where they don’t experience homeless people begging for their change daily. I have absolutely no question about what to do with my extra change. This might top the list of most arrogant and out-of-touch HN comment threads I’ve seen.
> I wonder where these people live where they don’t experience homeless people begging for their change daily. Most places in the country? You appear to be in somewhat of a bubble - you really should get out once in a while.
Most people in the country live in cities though, so it's not really unreasonable to be surprised that some people never encounter the extremely destitute. Maybe it is you who should leave your bubble of wealthy suburbanites?