something I ran across...
NEWS FACT A bill currently before the U.S. Congress would make the penny obsolete.
Thanks to a spike in metal prices, it now costs the U.S. Mint 1.23 cents to make a penny. Inflation is also dealing a blow to the beleaguered coin. Economists estimate that it takes about 7 cents to buy what 1 penny bought in 1956. Since many people don't bother to use the coin, roughly $1 billion worth of pennies are out of circulation. Just look in your piggy bank or bedroom drawer to find some of them.
U.S. Representative Jim Kolbe (R-Arizona) is the sponsor of legislation that would phase out the penny over the next five years. If Kolbe's bill becomes law, eventually all financial transactions will be rounded to the nearest nickel. Supporters say that this will save precious time at supermarket and convenience store checkout lines.
But a recent USA Today/Gallup survey found that more than half of Americans favor keeping the penny, which they say still serves a purpose. In recent years, for instance, charities have collected pennies as a way of raising money for worthy causes.
