Pound for pound 99p is worth every penny

President Barack Obama is currently doing a Google+ live hangout with several citizens discussing issues he brought up in the State of the Union.  One person asked why the United States hadn't gotten rid of the penny. 

As Monday marked the first of the penny’s last days, the Internet oozed feelings about the departure of the copper-plated coin, which has jangled in Canadians’ pockets for more than 155 years. Along with the #RIPs and #GoodRiddances, there were, of course, many, many penny jokes. We combed Twitter to find a few penny-related musings that made us chuckle and cringe: Outgoing Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty lures in followers by promising to share his two cents (nice Dad joke, Premier Dad):

This Sunday marks the first day that consumers could start paying an extra fee just for using their credit card to make purchases. But don't panic: It's unlikely to kick in right away, especially at the biggest retailers.

The Canadian government has begun to phase out the penny, saying it's too expensive to produce the coin. Besides its "excessive" production value, Canada has long cited the significant handling costs for the nation's retailers and environmental considerations that lessen the penny's worth. The country, which produced its last pennies on Monday, estimates the move will save taxpayers about $11 million a year.

OTTAWA — Making cents made no sense, but getting rid of the penny is only the beginning, says NDP MP Pat Martin. As the Royal Canadian Mint stops distributing pennies Monday, Martin’s eye is turning to the nickel and, eventually, the quarter. The MP for Winnipeg Centre plans to launch a private member’s motion by the end of the week to eliminate the five-cent coin and re-jig the rest of Canada’s currency. His “master plan” is to have a coin currency in multiples of 10s – 10, 20 and 50-cent coins, and $1, $2 and $5 coins.

Filed under: Buyer Beware, Consumer Complaints, Shopping

Filed under: House & Home, Saving, Weird & Wonderful