Don’t Stop Making Cents
0The President’s ADHD alighted on the penny after the Super Bowl. He posted on social media that he had directed the Secretary of the Treasury to stop minting pennies, because they cost too much to make.
Like many things Trump does, this is something that’s none of his business. The United States Mint derives its authority from Congress. If we’re to stop making pennies, Congress has to say so. In 2017, a bill was co-sponsored by John McCain that would have frozen penny minting for ten years while the Government Accountability Office studied whether the freeze should be made permanent. The bill failed to pass. Congress has considered getting rid of the penny and has declined to do so.
There are good reasons to keep making pennies. They do cost 3.69 cents to make, but if you get rid of them, you’ll need more nickels, and those cost 13.78 cents to make. Eliminate the penny, and everything will get rounded up to the next nickel. While that might not affect you much, poorer Americans use cash more often than you do. And won’t someone spare a thought for Abe Lincoln?
If he’s going to try to accomplish by fiat what Congress should be taking care of, how about a decree giving us daylight savings time permanently? Read the room, man.