Katie Weaver calls this the “perpetual penny paradox.” The New York Times Magazine In an article about American coins, she tries to understand why America continues to mint coins when almost no one uses them. The article has a “it'd be funny if it wasn't true” vibe, with the added bonus that it is. Weaver begins by noting that most of the pennies produced by the Mint and distributed as change are never used.
- “These replacement pennies are not themselves used, so they need to be replaced with new pennies that are also not used, which need to be replaced with new pennies that are also not used. In other words, we keep minting pennies because no one uses the pennies we mint.”
Currently, it is estimated that there are 240 billion unused pennies. Was If we didn't use the penny, banks would be logistically overwhelmed. So why do we keep minting pennies? Especially when Treasury officials and even presidents have been pointing out the coin's flaws for decades. “Political inertia” is the culprit. (Weaver turns to the Treasury for answers, which turns to the Federal Reserve, which turns to the Mint, which turns to the Fed, and so on.) While others point to emotion or lobbyists (such as the copper and zinc industries), Weaver says the real answer for our patience with the penny's uselessness is much simpler: “Maybe we forget that we don't have to.” Read more Full text Check out her detailed explanation (or any of our other longer summaries).
