Penny for your thoughts: Should we get rid of it?

President Trump ordered the Treasury Department to stop making pennies. But what does this mean for the economy?

Did you know that it costs four cents to make a penny? Most Americans don’t. But this could change after President Donald Trump ordered the eradication of the coin on February 9.

Although there is no sign that the U.S. Mint will stop the printing of the coin, most pennies are given out as change and are never spent. To many, jars of pennies sitting at home are the image that comes to mind. To others, the splitting chance of finding a lucky penny on the ground– to keep and make a wish– is enough to justify its existence. Admittedly, pennies are no longer in circulation.

However, is it enough to get rid of the coin entirely?

The removal of the penny will undoubtedly affect the country. Businesses will face system issues through checkout registers and pricing as well as cash may need to be rounded to the nearest five cents (thanks to the nickel).

But for consumers, the decline of the penny might feel insignificant.

Kamryn Scott, a USC graduate who majored in NGO and Social change, and owns a coffee vendor called “Brewster,” expressed a similar sentiment.

“Everything is like, 99 cents and you give me a penny back? That's just a waste of money,” Scott said.

Retailers have implemented charm pricing to psychologically influence customer’s purchases. A product may be $9.99 instead of $10, but consumers perceive these prices as lower, despite the cent difference.

By removing the penny, merchants are likely to continue using .99 pricing, but with the rise of digital transactions, businesses might logically standardize their prices across cash and digital sales.

Steph Domond, the student programs manager at USC's Center for Political Future, discussed the potential consequences of eliminating the penny from a political standpoint.

“I think it's important to remember that moving to a more digital payment method actually has issues in terms of inequality, because not everyone has access to a bank, not everyone has access to a debit card, not everyone has access to a phone for payment,” Domond said. “So there is a use for having coins and actual money.”

Alyssa Romero, a freshman studying stage management, similarly agreed and argued for continued production of pennies.

“I worked in retail and it was always helpful to have pennies, especially when doing change, and I think it would make everything a lot more difficult,” Romero said. “It would just normalize credit cards, which I think having cash is still important, especially for those who can't access credit cards.”

Some students have suggested that there are ways to circulate the penny back into ingrained societal utilization in advocacy of keeping them.

Lalou Ratsimihah, a sophomore studying journalism, believes the penny's continued use in change and its role in commerce justifies its existence.

“The fact that they're used in change and used by businesses suggests that there's nothing that really could replace it. There's no cheaper alternative. As long as there's a demand, it should exist,” they said.

For coin collectors and souvenir businesses with pushed-penny machines, the existence of the penny is traditional. Dominique Draper, a senior studying film and TV production, suggests that tradition justifies the need for physical currency.

“For now, they would put them in a museum and save them. I think it's just gonna be up to those collectors that hold on to, for example, old quarters and coins; the collector items. They’re gonna be a thing of the past,” he said.

As the Trump administration progresses, the future of the penny is uncertain, especially with the rise of credit card rewards and mobile phone payments. But it’s the thought that counts– worth exactly one penny.