No more pennies: In big change, Treasury will stop minting them
NPR Online NewsMAY 7
US Treasury to Phase Out the Penny
Above: A bin holds blank shapes that will be turned into one-cent coins at the U.S. Mint in Denver, Colo., in March 2012. Image copyright: Jim West/Contributor/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Killing the penny makes perfect economic sense as the government loses millions of taxpayer dollars every year to mint new one-cent coins. Production costs have soared due to rising zinc and copper prices, and Americans increasingly abandon cash payments for digital transactions. Canada eliminated its one-cent coin over a decade ago with no economic disruption.
Establishment-critical narrative
This is an ill-founded decision that will actually cost taxpayers more money because eliminating one-cent coins will dramatically increase demand for nickels, which lose even more money per coin at 14 cents to produce. This policy ignores the fact that low-denomination coins protect consumers from inflation and rounding taxes that disproportionately harm cash-dependent, low-income Americans who rely on precise pricing for their daily transactions.