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We probably should have gotten rid of the penny a long time ago. We haven't because of concentrated benefits and diffuse costs, a common problem that plagues th

by pg_bot 5y ago

We probably should have gotten rid of the penny a long time ago. We haven't because of concentrated benefits and diffuse costs, a common problem that plagues the federal government. The zinc and copper lobby are significantly interested in keeping pennies around and most people only pay a small price to keep the penny. I hope we create a law where any coinage that reaches a certain price threshold (~200% of face value) when being made and distributed must be redesigned or retired. This would solve this issue for any future coins that become nonsensical to mint.

Cthulhu_ 5y ago
> The zinc and copper lobby are significantly interested in keeping pennies around and most people only pay a small price to keep the penny. Do you have a source for this? It kinda sounds like conjecture, because I don't believe for a second that the production of pennies are that significant in the metals market. And as the article mentions, pennies are mainly zinc now, very little copper. Zinc is dirt cheap.
- MereInterest 5y ago
  Not the bulk zinc producers, but the manufacturer of the zinc blanks that are turned into pennies. From 5 minutes of searching, it looks like the Jarden Zinc Products (or their astroturfing) is the main lobbying group, as they are the sole supplier of those zinc blanks. https://publicintegrity.org/politics/saving-the-penny-makes-cents-for-zinc-backed-front-group/ https://publicintegrity.org/politics/saving-the-penny-makes-...
kortilla 5y ago
The “copper lobby”, if such a thing were to exist, doesn’t give a shit about pennies because the amount of copper in a modern penny is irrelevant. Penny production could disappear overnight and it wouldn’t even be noticeable in copper supply. At 30 million pennies produced a day, that’s 4100 pounds of copper a day or 680 metric tons a year. The US mines over a million metric tons a year and it’s not even a top 3 global copper miner. Pennies ain’t shit in the copper game.
- pg_bot 5y ago
  When I say "zinc and copper lobby" I'm referring to Jarden Zinc products, the sole supplier of penny blanks. The penny business means a whole lot to them. https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/clients/summary?cycle=2015&id=D000052514 https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/clients/summary...
  - kortilla 5y ago
    Ok, but why not just say that then? Even “zinc lobby” would have been better.

by pg_bot 5y ago

Cthulhu_ 5y ago

> The zinc and copper lobby are significantly interested in keeping pennies around and most people only pay a small price to keep the penny. Do you have a source for this? It kinda sounds like conjecture, because I don't believe for a second that the production of pennies are that significant in the metals market. And as the article mentions, pennies are mainly zinc now, very little copper. Zinc is dirt cheap.

MereInterest 5y ago
Not the bulk zinc producers, but the manufacturer of the zinc blanks that are turned into pennies. From 5 minutes of searching, it looks like the Jarden Zinc Products (or their astroturfing) is the main lobbying group, as they are the sole supplier of those zinc blanks. https://publicintegrity.org/politics/saving-the-penny-makes-cents-for-zinc-backed-front-group/ https://publicintegrity.org/politics/saving-the-penny-makes-...

kortilla 5y ago

The “copper lobby”, if such a thing were to exist, doesn’t give a shit about pennies because the amount of copper in a modern penny is irrelevant. Penny production could disappear overnight and it wouldn’t even be noticeable in copper supply. At 30 million pennies produced a day, that’s 4100 pounds of copper a day or 680 metric tons a year. The US mines over a million metric tons a year and it’s not even a top 3 global copper miner. Pennies ain’t shit in the copper game.

pg_bot 5y ago
When I say "zinc and copper lobby" I'm referring to Jarden Zinc products, the sole supplier of penny blanks. The penny business means a whole lot to them. https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/clients/summary?cycle=2015&id=D000052514 https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/clients/summary...
- kortilla 5y ago
  Ok, but why not just say that then? Even “zinc lobby” would have been better.