Could This Be the End of Our Penny?
A Senator from PEI is heading up a committee whose task is to determine the fate of the Canadian penny - and she's not a neutral party. Senator Catherine Callbeck is calling for its demise, and it's hard to disagree with her when it costs more in raw materials to produce a penny than a penny is actually worth. In fact, those production costs cost Canadian taxpayers about $25 million every year. Still sentimental? It's easy to be nostalgic about pennies, with so many wise old sayings based on the notion of their inherent worth. But today their value is debatable, and many think we could make do with an economy based on five cent increments.
Retailers might balk, as they like to price items at 99 cents, $1.99, $2.99 etc. as this fools consumers into thinking that they are paying less. Then again, what would be wrong with a 95-cent price point instead?
What do you think? Should we abandon the copper penny?
| Yes | |
|---|---|
| No | |
| Maybe, but I'll shed a tear |
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-08-2010 @ 12:25PM
sarita said...
Yes is time to get rid of the penny,
who needs all that weigth in your purse.
Reply
5-08-2010 @ 12:31PM
Brian Wm. Burnett said...
Get rid of it only if you want to see prices rise, not go down.
It won't be a .95 cent price point, it likely will be 1.05
Reply
5-14-2010 @ 8:14PM
Des said...
Finally, a step towards honesty in pricing.
Now, let's require retailers to include the tax in the advertised price, as is done in most of the world.
Reply
5-10-2010 @ 11:31AM
RL Schooley said...
No sticker shock at check-out! I LOVE the idea, but only if we can get ALL of the retailers to do it. The problem will be that it will have to be mandated by law in order to get everyone to comply. We have a small retail store and I used to post my prices "tax included", but when everyone else advertised their price before tax it made our products look too expensive. As long as the government wants the taxes to be "visible" (shown separately on the sales receipt) this will never work, but I think it's a great idea.
5-08-2010 @ 3:33PM
doug hill said...
No need for merchants to change any prices. Keep .99 or 1.99 or whatever, add the taxes to total and the cash register would round the total up or down to the nearest nickel. Half the time the customer would gain, the other half the merchant. Break even, Lots of people do this already.
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5-08-2010 @ 7:14PM
W. Smith said...
Other countries use pennies as well as 2 penny coins. This is just an excuse to raise cost to the consumer. The penny could be made of cheaper metals as it was during the war years or other cheaper products.
Reply
5-09-2010 @ 9:30AM
Don said...
How about we just don't make pennies for say 5 years and limp along on the ones already in circulation. Then if the supply dries up the mint could make a large amount all at once. Economy of scale should bring the cost down.
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5-09-2010 @ 6:33PM
daren said...
get rid of them.i must get 10 plus per day.hard to spend easier to put in a jar.
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5-10-2010 @ 9:39AM
RL Schooley said...
Getting rid of the penny probably makes sense, BUT only if we can get the provincial & federal governments to limit their sales tax to 5% each! Adding 13% to a $2.95 item takes it to $3.34 so you still need the pennies. If the government task force wants to look at this seriously they have to take that into consideration as well.
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5-10-2010 @ 10:45AM
M Johnston said...
Australia and New Zealand get along just fine without pennies. The pricing model remains the same and the rounding is on the total as suggested by Mr. Hill in his comment above. It may make too much sense for some people. Pun intended.
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5-10-2010 @ 6:05PM
Des said...
I agree. I think they also got rid of the equally valueless nickel.
These countries oblige retailers to include the sales tax in the visible price - which is the way the introduction of the HST was sold to Nova Scotia by the then Provincial Govt. Unfortunately, our wonderful Senate listened to the squeals of said retailers, and the Govt. backed down.
5-11-2010 @ 12:35AM
Warney said...
Its called Swedish rounding....it works just fine if you round it properly...1,3,5,7 go up and 2,4,6,8 go down - all fair...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_rounding
Some countries do this rounding to the nearest 10c...no need to round on electronic payments, only cash - besides how many people PAY IN CASH anymore anyhow???
This only makes sense people...we're stupid to bash it this long.
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5-11-2010 @ 3:41PM
Les Stevens said...
Why cant we just go to the nearest 5 cents ? up or down.
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5-24-2010 @ 10:56AM
les said...
The idea that all prices will be in 5 cent increments will not work.
If they charge a $1.00 that looks fine until the government charges 14% - now it is $1.14 so that will not work so the government will have to up the tax to 15% - Good move.
Reply