3 ms·

So Obama wanted to wanted to ban the penny, but it was deemed illegal to do so and efforts to get rid of the law requiring it did not pass: * https://www.washi

So Obama wanted to wanted to ban the penny, but it was deemed illegal to do so and efforts to get rid of the law requiring it did not pass: * https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/02/10/trump-us-mint-penny-coins/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/02/10/trump-us-mi... * https://www.local3news.com/obama-wants-to-retire-the-penny-but-can-it-be-done/article_105723fa-86c9-5b2d-b562-197997c9c3cd.html https://www.local3news.com/obama-wants-to-retire-the-penny-b... It's not that keeping the penny around is (necessarily) a good idea, but that there are, you know, laws, and people (including the President and cabinet folks) should kind of follow those laws. So has the law been amended to not require the minting of the penny anymore? * https://abcnews.go.com/US/trumps-order-scrap-penny-make-cents-expert/story?id=118654681 https://abcnews.go.com/US/trumps-order-scrap-penny-make-cent... * https://www.npr.org/2025/02/10/nx-s1-5292082/trump-penny-mint-treasury https://www.npr.org/2025/02/10/nx-s1-5292082/trump-penny-min... Is there some 'new interpretation' that has been 'found' that allows Sec. Treasury to not mint pennies? Or is this change one made by fiat / executive order? * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_debate_in_the_United_States#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_debate_in_the_United_Sta... There's only semi-consideration been given to this; the retailers want official rules passed on how round should be done * https://www.rila.org/focus-areas/finance/main-street-businesses-urge-swift-congressional-ac https://www.rila.org/focus-areas/finance/main-street-busines... For example, one subtly: > Ensure rounding for cash customers does not violate terms of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The SNAP program sensibly requires that SNAP customers cannot be treated differently than other customers.2 These provisions prohibit treating SNAP customers less favorably or more favorably than other customers. That means that rounding the price of food for a cash customer in either direction risks creating a violation of SNAP regulations for stores that participate in the SNAP program.

mattnewton 1y ago
You already know the answer.
kevin_thibedeau 1y ago
The president is now immune to obeying the law and can pardon all of his stooges.
- SauntSolaire 1y ago
  These are the types of comments people start making when they've been mindkilled by politics.
dgrin91 1y ago
My understanding from something I read months ago - its a new interpretation. Specifically the law instructs the gov to make as many pennies as is necessary, but does not define what that is or how to calculate it. If the government deems necessary = 0, then you dont need to make any more. Since the law is still on the books its still legal tender, and production may restart at any moment.
rando001111 1y ago
to my knowledge the legislation only says that the executive branch needs to make the "necessary" amount of pennies. the argument is that because they're losing money literally printing money that the "necessary" amount is zero and that therefore doing this follows the law because zero is an amount.
- kjkjadksj 1y ago
  I don’t understand why it costing more than face value to mint is such a bad thing
  - rando001111 1y ago
    This is one of the stupidest comments I have seen on the internet bar none. Wasting money is bad. I should not have to explain further.
    - jrmg 1y ago
      A penny is reused over and over again, every time it changes hands. It’s not necessarily bad that it costs a few cents to make one if it has utility. It costs more to make a ceramic mug than it does to fill it with coffee. That doesn’t make a ceramic mug uneconomical, because it’s used lots of times and the cost amortizes. ...Having said that, I don’t think there’s actually much value to having an individual token of exchange that signifies as little value as a penny does - it would be a good idea to stop making them even if they cost far less to make than they do.
      - rando001111 1y ago
        does it change hands? when was the last time you actually used a penny to buy something? do you ever deposit your pennies into your bank account? most people throw them in a change jar and forget about them.
        jrmg 1y ago
viburnum 1y ago
That was before Trump v. United States (2024)

mattnewton 1y ago

You already know the answer.

kevin_thibedeau 1y ago

The president is now immune to obeying the law and can pardon all of his stooges.

SauntSolaire 1y ago
These are the types of comments people start making when they've been mindkilled by politics.

dgrin91 1y ago

My understanding from something I read months ago - its a new interpretation. Specifically the law instructs the gov to make as many pennies as is necessary, but does not define what that is or how to calculate it. If the government deems necessary = 0, then you dont need to make any more. Since the law is still on the books its still legal tender, and production may restart at any moment.

rando001111 1y ago

to my knowledge the legislation only says that the executive branch needs to make the "necessary" amount of pennies. the argument is that because they're losing money literally printing money that the "necessary" amount is zero and that therefore doing this follows the law because zero is an amount.

kjkjadksj 1y ago
I don’t understand why it costing more than face value to mint is such a bad thing
- rando001111 1y ago
  This is one of the stupidest comments I have seen on the internet bar none. Wasting money is bad. I should not have to explain further.
  - jrmg 1y ago
    A penny is reused over and over again, every time it changes hands. It’s not necessarily bad that it costs a few cents to make one if it has utility. It costs more to make a ceramic mug than it does to fill it with coffee. That doesn’t make a ceramic mug uneconomical, because it’s used lots of times and the cost amortizes. ...Having said that, I don’t think there’s actually much value to having an individual token of exchange that signifies as little value as a penny does - it would be a good idea to stop making them even if they cost far less to make than they do.
    - rando001111 1y ago
      does it change hands? when was the last time you actually used a penny to buy something? do you ever deposit your pennies into your bank account? most people throw them in a change jar and forget about them.
      - jrmg 1y ago

viburnum 1y ago

That was before Trump v. United States (2024)