Is it time to say “sayonara!” to the smallest amount of U.S. currency? There has been a growing controversy about this topic, because some feel like the coin has lost its value over time, while others feel that they are still very useful.

Although pennies add to our growing wealth, if we stopped making them, it would improve our economy. According to an article by Jeff Sommer, if we stopped the production of pennies, we would have to round costs. For instance, if a coffee cup was normally $2.01, the cup of coffee would then be rounded down to $2.00. Also, according to The New York Times, the U.S. Mint would save money if they cut out the penny, since they spent 7 billion dollars in 2014 to create this small coin.

It would not phase citizens if the government were the ones that completely paid for the production of the pennies. However, citizens’ tax dollars are being forfeited in order to comply with the process of producing such expensive, yet useless items. No one wants to have their money wasted, but that is exactly what is currently happening with penny production.

Students and teachers from Mayfield Middle School were interviewed about their views on the penny. Thirty one percent of people interviewed said that they would approve of the production of pennies. A whopping 69% had the opposite view, saying that they do not want pennies to exist any more. Mr. Carlson simply said, “I only really use quarters and dimes”, while teacher, Mrs. Beard said, ”No, because we could work on using different materials like different plastics and materials for a cheaper alternative.” There are many different outlooks on whether or not we should keep producing the penny, and these perspectives are just a few examples.

Although people still use them, it would be better to stop making pennies. Pennies add to America’s ever growing debt just by being produced, and they cause more problems when people do not use them. It is time to ditch the penny, and say hello to the nickel!