Other countries (Canada) successfully eliminated their pennies BUT they provided guidance for the post-penny landscape. They passed regulations about how and when to round to the nearest 5 cents. Planning was meticulous, the process was gradual, and the public educated.
In typical Trump fashion, one day he just told the Treasury to stop making pennies. Followed up by an announcement on Truth Social. No, I am not kidding -- that's how it happened. He fucking tweeted it from the 2025 Super Bowl game a few months ago.
And now there are legal complications, since some states require BY LAW for merchants to give customers exact change. In other places, SNAP users may not be charged a different price for food than anyone else, yet SNAP cards calculate prices to the penny.
There are surprising economic impacts too. For example, an entire industry exists that makes the metal slugs the Mint uses to make pennies. They're all out of work now, along with the companies that service fed into them.
While pennies cost 3.7 cents each to make, nickels are worse at 13.8 cents per nickel. The Mint will be forced to make more of them to offset pennies, costing taxpayers more. Stopping penny production doesn't offset that.
Rounding up will cost consumers annually. Not much (a few bucks a year) but it adds up. And consumers are already strapped.
Rounding down will cost merchants potentially millions of dollars each, and they will pass the cost onto consumers.
Maybe it's past time to ditch the penny, but not like this.
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