I want to run the Jewish Space Laser that makes popcorn!
“I’m sorry. It’s just that I didn’t want you guys to think I was stuffy. You know, no fun. All brain, no penis.”
Stranger
This inflation calculator is commonly used, but how clear is the methodology? Simply looking at a “basket of goods” and the CPI is tricky. What’s a good pair of spats run you these days? What is the 2025 equivalent of spats? If your new washer only lasts 5 years when your old one lasted 15, how does the comparison work?
Of course the further back we go, the less reliable the calculations are. But it gets wonky fast.
Stranger
Goddammit! I knew I should have gone with buggy whips.
Don’t even.
Stranger
What, never?
The US MInt did propose aluminum 1 cent coins, but never issued them. This was 50 years ago:
Other countries have issued aluminum coins. India and Japan for sure; perhaps others.
I don’t understand why this is even any sort of point of contention. Canada stopped making the penny 13 years ago and I never missed it. They were a damn nuisance. Separately, Canada discontinued the $1 and $2 bill many years ago and replaced them with coins, which were much more durable.
These days the whole thing is moot because I literally never carry cash. There’s absolutely no need for it.
I am cautious about eliminating the penny for different reasons than the ones I’ve seen so far. My concern is that getting rid of the penny would mean that whatever you buy would be priced to be either exactly on the dollar, or in increments of 5 or 10 cents. No more apples for 97 cents per pound…the price would be raised to 1.00 per pound or far less likely 95 cents a pound. That would result in an appoximately 3% inflation on the price of apples.
Now spread that same principle across all of your purchases. For small items, say from 27 cents to 30 cents, the inflation would be about 10%. On that new Porsche that costs $87,987.67, an increase in 3 cents would be a very very small degree of inflation.
Now extend that same idea to a manufacturer who needs to buy 1.000,000 widget parts. He has been paying 8 cents each, for a total of $80,000. Now imagine that the price is 10 cents each…he now has to pay $100,000.
So what happens when you buy a widget? You pay more! And that will include food, clothing and just about everything else.
Now add that to the increase in prices coming due to tariffs…not such a great idea if you think about it.
As an aside, I purchase watch parts from China (who produce most of the parts “made” across the globe…then those parts are assembled in…say Switzerland and are then labeled as Swiss Made) My small orders have been delayed because there was a lack of preparation by the government agencies responsible for collecting tariffs, and the future prices of the parts themselves have increased in the last week or so.
Were spats ever included in the basket? I have doubts.
How do you tip the bellhop? The valet or parking attendant? Do you routinely buy stuff under $5 with a card?
That is not at all how it works. For bulk purchases the price would still be 8 cents. Only if you bought a single widget would the price be 10 cents. 
I get your point, but I suspect that the price of widgets would still increase somewhat due to general inflation. Thanks for the additional information.
Why in the world would you imagine that such a price change would happen? Eliminating the penny would have no impact at all on how goods were priced. It certainly never did when the penny was eliminated in Canada. This is not uncharted territory!
The only thing that changes is that the grand total at checkout is rounded up or down to the nearest nickel, and that’s only if you’re paying in cash, which is becoming very rare these days. In reality, the price of everything is still down to the cent, and remains so in the vast majority of cases even where you’re paying the grand total electronically.
I routinely buy everything with a card, either credit or debit. At a restaurant, the mobile POS terminal that the waiter brings to the table has options for the tip. With the proximity RFID “tap” system, paying for stuff valued at anywhere from a few cents up to (depending on the merchant) as much as $300 is just a matter of touch, beep, and you’re paid. Why would I carry cash?
If I were routinely dealing with bellhops or parking valets, then yes, I might carry cash. But I don’t.
I have a few. They feel like play money.
Yes, I know about tips in restaurants.
Well, here is a tip for you- if you like a business, try not to charge amounts under $10. If their average transaction amount gets low, they pay a much higher credit card fee.
Yes I like my cards also, but I also carry cash- but no coins, except maybe quarters (and of course a dollar coin if i got one).
Eliminating a 1 cent coin does not eliminate transactions with a 1 cent value or difference, they will still be processed electronically. It’s only with cash transactions that rounding will occur.
We are rapidly heading towards a cashless society, and once again America is reluctant to embrace what other countries have already adopted without issue.
You guys really need to hold your nose and take the plunge.
If I’m on vacation in the US, I get small bills for that. At home I never encounter valets or parking attendants, they are not common in Toronto.
And yes, a trip to a convenience store for a can of pop or a $2 coffee at the donut shop would be paid by tapping my phone. Why not? It takes less time then fishing cash out and getting change.
I just throw them away, not worth hassling with.
Much like the long dead mill coins, which if remembered correctly were cardboard
Not by the US mint, however, some states etc did have some-
Mill (currency) - Wikipedia.
If the total cost for producing and distributing a penny could be reduced to less than one cent then the government comes out ahead every time you throw one away.