Eliminating the penny from circulation would save everyone time and money, according to the Brookings Institute. As recently as the 1940s a penny had the purchasing power of about 66 cents of today's money and allowed stores to price a lot of cheap goods at that denomination. Fast forward to the year 2018 and almost nothing can be bought for a penny. They take up space in registers and pockets and create unnecessary wastes of time in the checkout line.
More egregious is that pennies currently cost about two cents to make at today's costs, so the government and taxpayers are effectively losing money with every minted coin.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.