I learned the other day that it costs the US Mint over 2 cents to crank out a penny. Now, I'm no mathematician, but that seems less than cost-effective. So why do we still make more of them? Rich folks (who generally make all the rules) have no use for pennies anymore. Joe Average is annoyed by them. Most people, I'm guessing, would no longer bother to bend over and pick one up, should they happen upon it on the street. I'll go so far as to speculate that a homeless person living in a cardboard box would turn down an offer of pennies. How many of us have a coffee can - or perhaps some larger container - taking up space in our home, chock full o' pennies, that we just wish would go away. Even most banks don't want them - less and less banks are willing to count change these days, and when it comes to pennies, I can't blame them. Nobody likes 'em, with the possible exception of numismatists (and who cares what they like, anyway?). Other than shoving a couple in one's loafers, or using one to test the tread depth on a car tire, they're bordering on being useless. So please, for the love of money, can't we just use common sense and stop making these common cents already? That's my two cents, which should probably be about a buck and a half, adjusted for inflation.
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