Written by Mark Reynolds.
President Donald Trump has announced that he is directing the U.S. Treasury to stop producing pennies, calling the coin a waste of money. He made this statement on TruthSocial, pointing out that it costs more to mint a penny than the coin is actually worth. According to Trump, this is just another example of pointless government spending that needs to go.
His message was simple: if a penny costs more than a penny to make, why are we still making them? He framed the move as a common-sense decision to cut unnecessary expenses. Trump added that eliminating the penny is part of a broader push to make the government more efficient and financially responsible.
The Cost of Making Pennies Has Gotten Out of Control
The argument against the penny isn’t new, but it’s becoming harder to ignore. The cost of minting pennies has risen significantly, with each one now costing more than three times its face value to produce. In just the last year, the cost of making pennies jumped by over 20%. The total cost to taxpayers? Hundreds of millions of dollars.
Pennies make up a large percentage of the coins the U.S. Mint produces each year, yet they barely serve a practical purpose. Most people don’t use them regularly, and businesses often treat them as an inconvenience. The reality is that pennies have little buying power, and they frequently end up forgotten in jars or lost in couch cushions.
What Happens If We Get Rid of the Penny?
If pennies stop being produced, cash transactions will need to be rounded to the nearest nickel. Some people worry this could lead to minor price increases over time, but other countries that have eliminated their lowest-value coins haven’t seen significant problems. Canada stopped producing pennies years ago, and transactions now round up or down without much issue.
On the other hand, some argue that getting rid of pennies might not save as much money as expected. If more nickels need to be produced to replace the role of pennies, costs could shift rather than disappear. The nickel, like the penny, also costs more to make than its face value, so any increase in nickel production might offset the savings from eliminating the penny.
Our Take
Cutting wasteful spending is always a good idea, and stopping penny production is a smart move. There’s no reason for the government to keep pouring money into something that costs more to produce than it’s worth. This is basic financial common sense.
However, this decision also raises questions about how money is managed at the federal level. If eliminating the penny is necessary to reduce waste, what does that say about the rest of government spending? Pennies are a small piece of a much bigger problem: reckless, inefficient budgeting. If leaders are serious about fixing waste, they need to look beyond just pennies and tackle the real sources of financial mismanagement.
