MP to introduce bill to eliminate the penny

[Praxius]

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/03/31/penny.html

A Winnipeg MP who thinks the penny is a nuisance and too expensive to ship around the country is expected to introduce a private member's bill on Monday to take it out of circulation.

New Democrat Pat Martin says while the Royal Canadian Mint contends it costs only 0.7 cents to make a penny, Library of Parliament research suggests the real cost is as much as four cents per penny.

The biggest expense comes from getting the one-cent coins from the mint to banks, he says. After that, many end up in jars or under couch cushions, because people don't want to carry them around.

Martin's legislation would require retailers on cash transactions to round final totals up or down to the nearest five- or 10-cent mark. Debit and credit card transactions would not be rounded.

The legislation wouldn't prevent a store from setting whatever price it wants for a product, Martin says.

The most recent public opinion study by the Mint, released last fall, suggests 63 per cent of small retailers and 42 per cent of consumers favour getting rid of the penny.

Nineteen per cent of small retailers and 33 per cent of consumers are against it, while the remainder are indifferent.

One third of consumers who were against the idea were worried about higher prices from retailers opting to round up prices to the nearest five-cent mark.

New Zealand and Australia have both abolished the penny.

Martin says studies of these countries showed getting rid of pennies didn't cost consumers or retailers anything extra.

But I love that copper smell on my hands.

 

[lone wolf]

Geez ... don't do that! You can bet they'll round up the price a dime for every penny they could roll back.

Woof!

 

[Tonington]

Well, Canada already leads the world in debit card transactions. In 2002 it was up to 49% of all retail transactions. It's probably higher yet, and would likely go even higher if this legislation were to pass.

 

[MikeyDB]

Long live free-enterprise!

If you're feeling punished for hoarding those soon to be useless pennies...just send them to me....

 

[Praxius]

Long live free-enterprise!

If you're feeling punished for hoarding those soon to be useless pennies...just send them to me....

No no... just take all that copper, melt it down and sell it.... I'm told the vaule has gone up and idiots keep stealing it from power terminals, to the point of risking electricution.

Now we'll have tons of free copper.

 

[EagleSmack]

They are probably worth more as scrap than the value assigned.

 

[MikeyDB]

Good idea or thought Prax but you wait....Next time you go to buy copper it'll be at an Exxon or Mobil station and the price will be whatever these theives decide it should be!

 

[EagleSmack]

No no... just take all that copper, melt it down and sell it.... I'm told the vaule has gone up and idiots keep stealing it from power terminals, to the point of risking electricution.

Now we'll have tons of free copper.

That is an affirmative. That is the business I am in and Copper prices have skyrocketed. The Chinese are buying it faster than it can be manufactured and that is driving prices through the roof. Demand in the US is about the same but it is a competition to get available copper and cable.

Is a penny 100% copper?

 

[EagleSmack]

Oh...and power companies used to be able to leave their reels of solid copper cable (grounding wire, etc) in the open. Now they have to provide additional security and attention (guards, barbed wire enclosures, cameras, etc) because with a good set of heavy duty cutters you can bite into a cable and drop off some very lucrative scrap.

 

[mt_pockets1000]

It's becoming more of a problem all the time on construction sites. Last year we had a number of heating coils and electrical panels smashed to pieces and the copper removed. It amounted to $50,000 in replacement costs. And the added expense of hiring a security company to watch the site overnight.

Wiki....94% steel, 1.5% nickel, 4.5% copper plated zinc.

 

[lone wolf]

...and sometimes, a person has to supplement the income when the work starts getting scarce.

Woof!

 

[Zzarchov]

In 10-20 years it won't matter, Debit will probably be everything, thus allowing retailers (and banks) to screw you from a few more cents ("we already round up currency purchases..we should be rounding up all purchases..for fairness")

 

[Scott Free]

It's becoming more of a problem all the time on construction sites. Last year we had a number of heating coils and electrical panels smashed to pieces and the copper removed. It amounted to $50,000 in replacement costs. And the added expense of hiring a security company to watch the site overnight.

Wiki....94% steel, 1.5% nickel, 4.5% copper plated zinc.

I think we can expect more of that as we continue our slide into the third world. In monetary terms the slide isn't so obvious but in real world terms (like your example) it's pretty obvious. IMO this sort of thing isn't happening because crime is on the increase but because poverty and inflation are. To see it properly we need an historical comparison since the whole globe is racing to the bottom. For example; where I live there are a lot of lumber mills. They provide what are considered good jobs. They pay about 3 times minimum wage and have benefits. In the 70s, however, they paid 5-6 times minimum wage. That is quite a big difference.

 

[Just the Facts]

Leave it to a Canadian politician to introduce a bill to eliminate something that doesn't exist!

Seriously though, it should be rounded down and the difference should come directly out of the federal tax portion.

If it's a non-taxable item, it's up to the vendor and purchaser to haggle over wether it gets rounded up or down.

 

[Lester]

Hate to rain on you pennies from heaven scrap idea but-only pennies from 1996 or earlier are primarily copper(98)%- the pennies minted after that date are 4.5%copper/1.5% nickel and 94% steel they cost $.008 each to produce and distribute.

 

[einmensch]

The Royal Mint ? I didn't realize that the Royal mint in Ottawa still stamped pennies. As far as I know, the Royal mint produces no currency only commemoritive coins. All money is printed or stamped by a private company under the control of a private company Called the Bank of Canada. These are private individuals that issue and control the value of Canadian currency. The Bank of Canada enters a dollar amount on their computer and forwards that to the Canadian government and the Canadian government pays interest on that amount. Prior to the Canadian government giving up the right to issue currency and determine the value of it, Canada controlled the money. Bankers would like it if no currency existed and all transactions were with plastic. Their notion is that currency is only needed for illegal transactions. Cash paid to cheat on taxes cash so that husband or wife wont know what motel or hooker etc--This year the penny next year the nickle--

 

[Praxius]

Bankers would like it if no currency existed and all transactions were with plastic.

I myself would like for neither to exist and just went back to trading based on personal value, not what some 3rd party dictates.