Is the penny still relevant?
Obama wants Congress' approval to make cheaper pennies
It costs more than a penny to make a penny, and President Barack Obama wants Congress to grant him permission to lower the cost of producing the 1-cent coins.
According to Time magazine, Obama's recent budget proposal included a plan to "change the composition of coins to more cost-effective materials."
It currently costs the federal government 2.4 cents to make a penny and 11.2 cents to make a nickel, Time reported.
A Greeneville, Tenn., plant called Jarden Zinc manufactures penny blanks for the U.S. Mint, according to an old Times Free Press article.
Robert Whaples, professor of economics and chair of the economics department at Wake Forest University, recently wrote a column for CNN, making a case to eliminate the penny.
Some local residents also expressed an anti-penny stance.
"They cost way too much money to make for how little they are worth," Chattanooga resident Brooke Mercer said via Twitter. "And when I'm looking for quarters, I only have pennies."
This guy hates pennies, too. And nickels. Watch him rant. Click here.
LiveScience has an article on how to make the penny worth 1 cent again. Click here to read it.
