In general, I wouldn't call this blog "incendiary." "Meek" or "mild-mannered" might be more appropriate terms. I don't talk politics or religion or morals; I just talk about the minutiae of daily life. And yet ... some issues must be discussed, even if my readers might find them upsetting.I think you all should know that I'm for abolishing the penny. There! I've admitted it. Sometimes, a person just has to take a stand. And I say, the penny has long outlived its usefulness.
Does anyone remember that episode of The West Wing where they discussed this issue? Some people wanted to do away with the penny, but then everyone in Illinois was going to be upset because Lincoln was getting the shaft, so the idea always stalled out. They quoted all sorts of statistics of how much money is being wasted in America every year because the handling of pennies in retail transactions is more expensive than the financial gain of receiving one cent in payment, if that makes sense.
I just wanted to go on the record and say, with the current state of the economy and quickly-rising prices, I think the penny is silly.
Although ... what would that do to gas prices? Maybe I need to reconsider my stance after all. So much for me being a hardliner!;)
3 comments:
So, I take it you saw the abolish-the-penny guy on the Colbert Report the other day?
No? In that case ....
The interview is here:
The Colbert Report: Interview with Jeff Gore of Citizens for Retiring the Penny
I would get rid of all coins below 10 (pence, cents, or whatever).
The only practical reason for keeping that is to pay for penny sweets, and health and safety laws have pretty much stopped that happening... You have to buy everything in bags these days.
I hadn't seen the "abolish the penny" guy on Colbert. Does this mean that I should write for COlbert, though, since we're obviously on the same wavelength?
Jonathan: I especially think that the UK should get rid of the 2p coin. It's so large, for something that's worth so little!
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