# Ottawa plans to kill the penny **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 29, 2012, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ottawa-plans-to-kill-the-penny/617212 "2012-03-29T22:58:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ottawa-plans-to-kill-the-penny/617212/101 "2013-02-05T03:57:38Z")
I suggest we all crank up “Copperhead Road” while watching the spinning Google doodle. Not that I needed an excuse to crank it previously. Isn’t there a copper ale out there? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ottawa-plans-to-kill-the-penny/617212/102 "2013-02-05T06:27:08Z")
The Coppertop! ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ottawa-plans-to-kill-the-penny/617212/103 "2013-02-05T06:33:03Z")
They’re pennies, not Duracells. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ottawa-plans-to-kill-the-penny/617212/104 "2013-02-05T18:51:29Z")
Day 2: I decided to go to Subway for lunch today. My usual sub costs $5.93, so I thought I would pay by debit card and avoid the rounding up. But then I realised that if I saw two cents lying on the ground, I wouldn’t bother picking them up, so why would I go out of my way to avoid two cents of rounding? In the end, I paid in cash. And – surprise! – they were still giving out pennies in change. So I’m still a net $0.02 ahead in terms of rounding so far. I’m thinking about this way, way too much. ---
**Author:** ![Monkey\_Chews](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@Monkey\_Chews](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monkey_Chews)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ottawa-plans-to-kill-the-penny/617212/105 "2013-02-06T00:41:51Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Seriously, I was looking forward to getting my coffee today and experiencing rounding–remember, I pay $2.36 for a large takeout cup. But the coffeeshop owner was there, and as she sometimes does (“You come in every day; I’m not losing anything if I charge you for a small”), charged me for a small coffee–cost $2.00 even. Who cares about rounding of a couple of cents when you’re paying prices like that! Come to Sydney, and you can happily pay $3.50 for a small coffee and $4.50 for a large. (And our Dollars are roughly equivalent at the moment.) Bah! Now I need a coffee. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ottawa-plans-to-kill-the-penny/617212/106 "2013-02-06T01:57:47Z")
> [@Monkey\_Chews](#): > > Who cares about rounding of a couple of cents when you’re paying prices like that! Come to Sydney, and you can happily pay $3.50 for a small coffee and $4.50 for a large. (And our Dollars are roughly equivalent at the moment.) > > Bah! Now I need a coffee. What’s the minimum wage for people serving said coffee? Just curious. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ottawa-plans-to-kill-the-penny/617212/107 "2013-02-06T03:39:18Z")
> [@Monkey\_Chews](#): > > …Come to Sydney, and you can happily pay $3.50 for a small coffee and $4.50 for a large. (And our Dollars are roughly equivalent at the moment). The Australian dollar is worth $1.032 Canadian according to [xe.com](http://xe.com). But you have to consider that Sydney is a metropolis of Australia, while **Spoons** lives in a small city in southern Alberta. Your coffee prices would be more appropriately compared to those in Toronto, Montreal, or Vancouver. ---
**Author:** ![Monkey\_Chews](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@Monkey\_Chews](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monkey_Chews)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ottawa-plans-to-kill-the-penny/617212/108 "2013-02-06T05:22:55Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > What’s the minimum wage for people serving said coffee? Just curious. $15.96 per hour is the minimum wage in Australia. (Lower for [teens](http://www.fairwork.gov.au/pay/national-minimum-wage/pages/default.aspx).) > [@Sunspace](#): > > Your coffee prices would be more appropriately compared to those in Toronto, Montreal, or Vancouver. Sorry to continue this little hijack, but just out of curiosity, what are the prices like in those large cities? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ottawa-plans-to-kill-the-penny/617212/109 "2013-02-06T06:13:08Z")
> [@Monkey\_Chews](#): > > $15.96 per hour is the minimum wage in Australia. (Lower for [teens](http://www.fairwork.gov.au/pay/national-minimum-wage/pages/default.aspx).) Wow. The minimum wage here in Ontario is $10.25. I know this, because I’m making it in my part-time job. 🙂 > [@Monkey\_Chews](#): > > Sorry to continue this little hijack, but just out of curiosity, what are the prices like in those large cities? Hmm. I’ll have to check tomorrow when I pass by one of the 157 million Tim Hortons franchises in the Greater Toronto Area, but [this link](http://www.redflagdeals.com/deal/restaurants/tim-hortons-1-small-latte-cafe-mocha-or-classic-french-vanilla-for-a-limited-time-2012/) suggests that **Spoons** ’ local Alberta price is not that different from the Toronto price. The more ‘artistic’ beverages, such as at Starbucks, have been in the region of $4 for a long time. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ottawa-plans-to-kill-the-penny/617212/110 "2013-02-06T08:08:48Z")
So now even if you offer someone a penny for his thoughts, he still won’t change his mind. ---
**Author:** ![wolfstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@wolfstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfstu)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ottawa-plans-to-kill-the-penny/617212/111 "2013-02-06T16:25:45Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > So now even if you offer someone a penny for his thoughts, he still won’t change his mind. [Sorry, **my** thoughts are a buck apiece.](http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1989/03/05) 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Implicit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Implicit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Implicit)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ottawa-plans-to-kill-the-penny/617212/112 "2013-02-06T16:31:54Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > So now even if you offer someone a penny for his thoughts, he still won’t change his mind. And opinions offered with “just my 2 cents” round down to nothing. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ottawa-plans-to-kill-the-penny/617212/113 "2013-02-06T18:42:28Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I’m pretty sure it’s because it’s against the constitution. > Or maybe because that’s not what the founding fathers would have wanted. > Or maybe because the bible told you so. > It’s usually one or the other, or a combination of all three. No, I think it must be because we had a plebiscite to decide what kind of coins and currency we wanted, and we can’t countervene that. Ever. Don’t tread on me. No taxation without representation. At least, that seems to be the way many people think. If you talk about replacing the dollar bill with a coin or eliminating the penny, they rise up in anger and hysteria to decry any such assault on their rights. In any other country the government and/or central banking authority would just do it. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ottawa-plans-to-kill-the-penny/617212/114 "2013-02-06T18:46:50Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > I’m glad our Canadian cousins are seeing sense and getting rid of 1c pieces - I’m still astounded the US has them, since you can’t buy anything with them. But we have to have pennies! Without pennies, my eight-cent cup of coffee will cost a whole dime. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ottawa-plans-to-kill-the-penny/617212/115 "2013-02-06T19:04:58Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > What surprises me is the howls of resistance that seem to come up in the US when someone moots getting rid of the penny. I’ve never been able to comprehend the objection, but it seems to be something like a feeling that somehow it’s a Government/Big Business plot to take even more of The Little Guy’s hard-earned money or something like that. Never mind it’s been pretty conclusively established that it all evens out and even if it doesn’t, regardless of who might come out ahead, we’re talking mere cents - almost infintisemal (and nowadays useless) amounts of money. I don’t get it either. I think some people here still imagine that there are all sorts of things you can buy for .08 or .14 or even $.76; either that, or the immoral Fed with its FIAT DOLLARS\* will be finally be abolished as we return to the Holy Gold Standard and prices collapse by 95%. The truth is that there’s almost nothing that cheap anymore nor will it ever be. When it costs more in cheap base metal and Mint processing to stamp out a coin that won’t pay for a crumb off the bun of that Big Mac, or one clip of your barber’s shears–you should stop making it! You don’t waste the people’s money looking for a still cheaper alloy so you can keep pumping the worthless things out. \*As they like to shout it out in their online screeds. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ottawa-plans-to-kill-the-penny/617212/116 "2013-02-06T20:47:53Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Hmm. I’ll have to check tomorrow when I pass by one of the 157 million Tim Hortons franchises in the Greater Toronto Area, but [this link](http://www.redflagdeals.com/deal/restaurants/tim-hortons-1-small-latte-cafe-mocha-or-classic-french-vanilla-for-a-limited-time-2012/) suggests that **Spoons** ’ local Alberta price is not that different from the Toronto price. The more ‘artistic’ beverages, such as at Starbucks, have been in the region of $4 for a long time. At Tim Hortons on the Durham College campus in Oshawa, the largest and most expensive coffee drink is $2.90. Sorry, **Monkey Chews**. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ottawa-plans-to-kill-the-penny/617212/117 "2013-02-06T21:16:35Z")
I just got my daily $2.36 coffee, and handed over a $5 bill. I got back $2.65! Woo-hoo! I’ve been rounded! ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ottawa-plans-to-kill-the-penny/617212/118 "2013-02-06T22:06:26Z")
The good side: at least now the kids at the counter won’t have to pretend anymore that they know how to count change. The bad side: a whole bunch of folks who worked their asses off to make it through elementary school math will be wondering why they had to learn all that counting stuff, now that they no longer need it. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ottawa-plans-to-kill-the-penny/617212/119 "2013-02-07T09:49:45Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > But we have to have pennies! Without pennies, my eight-cent cup of coffee will cost a whole dime. I think the financial possibilites from the time machine you’ve evidently built, enabling you to travel back to the 1950s to enjoy 8c cups of coffee, will more than compensate for any trivial inconveniece the rounding of prices may incur. 😉 But as to your succeeding remarks - yes, I agree completely. > [@Muffin](#): > > The bad side: a whole bunch of folks who worked their asses off to make it through elementary school math will be wondering why they had to learn all that counting stuff, now that they no longer need it. Kids will still need to learn maths and how to make change, you know. Just as they do in all those other countries which don’t have 1 and 2c pieces (or the equivalent thereof). ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ottawa-plans-to-kill-the-penny/617212/121 "2013-02-07T11:05:40Z")
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