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Is It Time to Kill the Penny?

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Re: Is It Time to Kill the Penny?

#361

Post by ianhorn »

kerkeslager wrote: post #319
dhosek wrote: post #206

When someone posted an article about the coin shortage on Facebook recently, I realized that I haven't used cash for a purchase since sometime before the lockdown started. And even before that, my primary use of cash was the collections basket at church—which the lockdown has ended up transforming into a credit card transaction now. Our formerly cash transactions for our cleaning lady have converted into Zelle paymen…

There are whole subeconomies that operate primarily in cash. If you think that cash is going to disappear, you're living in an echo chamber. And more to the point, forcing every American to pay 1-3% rent on every transaction is not progress.

Don't other countries limit the amount payment providers can charge?

Re: Is It Time to Kill the Penny?

#362

Post by Dylan16807 »

DonHopkins wrote: post #86
klyrs wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But because of quarters you still probably need nickels. Only in the presence of dimes. That's why I say, cut them too.

Good point. Binary money is ideal. But you can get arrested (or shot if Black) for trying to spend a two dollar bill in America. Man arrested for using $2 bills at Best Buy - clip from The Two Dollar Bill Documentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS3yjfefUD8 A $2 Bill At Taco Bell https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbp-UyLH2ng Police Involved After Student Tries To Buy Lunch With $2 Bill https://www.forbes.com/sites/k…

Binary isn't ideal. Nobody needs a half dollar; too much granularity.

Quarter, dollar, five, twenty, hundred would be plenty of coverage.

Re: Is It Time to Kill the Penny?

#364

Post by sosborn »

TheSmiddy wrote: post #358
rhino369 wrote: post #327

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It makes it impossible to do mass marketing with prices. Best Buy can send a flyer saying "Xbox One Only 199.99!" to everyone in Illinois. But if they had to include tax, it would be 219.99 or 214.99 depending on which side of my town you live in because they tax rate changes.

This is an argument for less levels of taxation, ie sales tax should only be at state and not county level. Almost every other country in the world works fine without bait'n'switching their citizens at every single transaction.

The thing is though, it isn't bait and switch. Everyone know exactly what it happening. I remember learning it when I was 7 - it isn't difficult.

I get that it's weird if you aren't used to it, but it really isn't the big deal people (that don't have to even deal with it) make it out to be.

Re: Is It Time to Kill the Penny?

#365

Post by tmabraham »

tacocataco wrote: post #119

All I want is for all paper cash to be plastic so I can wash the covid off of it. I support getting rid of the penny, but I feel that plastic cash would make more of a difference. CGP Grey has a wonderful video on the penny, he is my favorite YouTuber. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=y5UT04p5f7U

I was looking if someone had posted this video :)

Re: Is It Time to Kill the Penny?

#367

Post by elf25 »

PopeDotNinja wrote: post #280
klyrs wrote: post #46

As an American living in Canada, I gotta say. Pennies and dollar bills SUCK. We have $1 and $2 coins and they're actually useful. Every time I visit home, I end up with piles of pennies and wads of stinky, tattered, overcirculated garbage bills. If you accumulate a pile $1 and $2 coins, nobody looks askance if you plunk down a stack of them. But god, the glares if you want to spend $20 in dollar bills. I say take it…

About a year ago I tried giving a 1L bottle full of pennies to a homeless dude. He wouldn't take them. He was like "what am I gonna do with that shit?" I just left them on the sidewalk. They were still there a few hours later. True story.

he can't smoke it, drink it or shoot it up his arm...

Re: Is It Time to Kill the Penny?

#368

Post by kerkeslager »

ianhorn wrote: post #361
kerkeslager wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are whole subeconomies that operate primarily in cash. If you think that cash is going to disappear, you're living in an echo chamber. And more to the point, forcing every American to pay 1-3% rent on every transaction is not progress.

Don't other countries limit the amount payment providers can charge?

Yes. The US, however, does not.

Additionally, the terms of use of credit card companies forbids charging a different price for cash versus card. This means that businesses which aren't large enough to negotiate different terms, have to raise prices across the board to cover the cost of credit card payments--even using cash, you're paying rent to the credit card companies.

Re: Is It Time to Kill the Penny?

#369

Post by Dylan16807 »

jakeogh wrote: post #337
Wohlf wrote: post #290

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>standardize on a single sales tax rate across the country My modest proposal, do what Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon have all done and eliminate it. Sales tax is annoying and regressive.

I'll take sales tax over income tax; it's unconstutional in more than one way and an astounding waste of resources. RIP Aaron Russo.

> it's unconstutional in more than one way

There was an entire amendment specifically declaring the ability to levy (unapportioned) income tax. It was sufficiently passed, and overrides everything else that came before it.

You can't play a game of 'gotcha' and invalidate something like that off the way you want a word interpreted or some bureaucratic misstep.

Re: Is It Time to Kill the Penny?

#370

Post by el-salvador »

My country uses the US Dollar as currency but since tax is added to prices we dont use pennies as much as in the US.

* Most prices are given in 5 cent multiples. * The pennies I get are usually from change in supermarkets or from produfts with .99 prices Vending machine and parking machines don't accept pennies

I do find the Dollar Coin annoying, which we use instead of the Dollar Bill. It's very easy to get lots of dollar coins as change.

I wish we used the $1 and $2 bill though. It would be very useful for the average transaction amount we have here. Our neighbouring countries all have bills near that amount.

(Minimum wage $1.78/h)

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