No Penny For Your Thoughts

 

SLIGHTLY OFF THE MARK

 

            Well, it finally happened: President Obama said something I agree with.

            He wants to get rid of the penny.

            A penny for your thoughts, Mr. President? “The once-cent piece has Lincoln on it, and our Founding Fathers are no longer relevant.” I’m kidding; he didn’t really say that – sounds more like something Joe Biden would say. No, the POTUS has – brace yourself – a practical reason for doing away with the penny, as he said in an interview: “Anytime we’re spending money on something people don’t actually use, that’s an example of things we should probably change.”

            Well, there goes most of Congress.

            Of course, people do use pennies, if they use cash at all, because they have to. Part of that is psychological: pricing something at $4.99 makes people think they’re getting a bargain, while $5.00 seems like so much more. Without the penny, retailers might have to price their produce at – gasp! -- $4.95. Or, more likely, $5.45.           

( The biggest argument for getting rid of our smallest coin (well, not physically smallest – what’s up with that?) is that while a penny is only worth one cent, it costs almost two and a half cents to produce )