If you have a jar of pennies on your dresser, you know one of the problems with the coin: It has so little purchasing power it’s not worth the trouble of letting a handful of them jingle in your pocket.

The list of things you can’t buy for one cent includes the penny itself. Every penny is made of 2.4 cents worth of metal, so circulating them puts unnecessary drag on the federal budget.

Last year, the government spent about $60 million minting coins, many of which are destined to sit in jars. But there is a solution, and it has just been exercised by one of our continental neighbors.

Canada has announced that it will stop circulating pennies, and all cash prices will be rounded up to the nearest nickel.

It is a great idea, and it’s time that the United States does the same.

If it decides to take up the issue, Congress would face a formidable pro-penny lobby. Led by Abraham Lincoln enthusiasts, and backed by the zinc mining industry, the case for cranking out pennies has prevailed in Washington in the decades since inflation turned the coins into a liability.

It’s time that we follow Canada’s example and take on these interests. Junking the penny may not solve the nation’s economic problems, but minting new ones while last year’s models gather dust definitely doesn’t help.

 

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