The current news (or rather, currency news 
) is that Canada is to phase out the penny:
Here’s the debate: is this a good move?
I’m inclined to think it is, as the penny coin is effectively useless due to inflation. But I’m interested in hearing what you all think. Getting rid of the penny - good idea or bad?
Yes, of course it’s a good idea. In the US, the last low denomination to be phased out was the half-penny, in 1857. In today’s money, that’s worth about 13 cents. If people in 1857 (a time when even inflation-adjusted incomes were far lower) could deal with a minimum currency unit equivalent to a quarter, then we can deal with the same today.
It’s an overdue move, and I’d throw the nickel in if I had my way. I’d listen to arguments on the dime, too.
We got rid of 1 and 2 cent coins in 1990 (as did New Zealand), and it’s caused no problem whatsoever.
One thing I didn’t know until just now is that they were melted down to make the Bronze medals for the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Now that is brilliant.
I thought that the no-penny system I encountered in New Zealand worked well. I agree that it’s overdue here.
Great move.
Little old ladies will be protesting in Nathan Phillips Square though.
in aus we got rid of 1 &2c coins. all good nothing to see here
It is a terrific and long, long overdue move.
The only purpose of the penny is/was to help make change; by itself, it has/had no purchasing power.
But it sure does/did have liabilities:
Kudos to the Conservatives for using the only slightly disingenuous ‘we’ll save 11 millions dollars’ excuse to finally get rid of the inane penny (i.e. as ridiculous as it was to have kept the penny for so long, it ultimately took the guise of a belt-tightening budget to do the deed).
Will stores be allowed to continue to post prices in penny increments? Because it’s deceptive to advertise a price that everyone must pay more than.
Like the downs syndrome children who post gas station prices in mills. Where the fuck do you get a mill coin?
New Zealand also got rid of its 5 cent coin a few years ago, and downsized all of its original decimal coins.
Not everybody; only people who pay cash. And if they use the rounding method used in many other countries, only if the total cost at the very end ends in a 3, 4, 8, or 9, with cash customers paying less (albeit in a meaningless amount) if it ends in a 1, 2, 6, or 7. (And IIRC, sales taxes in Canada are added to the price, so it wouldn’t really matter if stores posted prices in five cent increments.)
I’m opposed, but only insofar as they should’ve ditched the nickel too.
Now that’s a fair system. I wish the whole mill thing worked like that down here. It’s such a petty small thing but it chars my bacon good. It’s always rounded in the gas station’s favor. Effectively they get to advertize a lower price than they’re charging.
Sure it’s not as bad as war and poverty, but sod me if it isn’t close.
I’m for it.
Here’s the official announcement:
In Australia, the prices advertised in shops always include the GST (goods and services tax – a form of VAT), so, if you wanted to, you could arrange your purchases so they ended in 2 or 7 as the total, so that you got 2 cents rounded off the total. But, while I say that you could do that, I don’t know of anyone who does. In addition, if a shop advertises an item at (say) 97 cents, my guess is that they do that knowing that they still make a profit with 95 cents paid for the item.
Giles, do your prices vary by locality within Australia? I think that’s one reason our prices do not include tax: we have different tax rates in each province.
Superb idea, and long overdue here too. Fuck the little old ladies.
The Australian states, under the Australian Constitution, cannot impose any kind of sales tax or VAT, so the GST is uniform at 10% throughout the country. Generally you only see the GST on your receipt, which might say something like “Total $10.00 Includes $0.91 GST”.
I’m against it. It would be better to slide the decimal to the right one place and make pennies worth 10x what they were.
What’s the value of starting down a path where eventually the smallest coin in circulation will be the $1000?
Reflecting reality? If we get to the point where it’s practical to have a $1000 coin, it’s going to be beyond ridiculous to keep lugging around pennies.