Trump Axes the Penny in Latest Round of Federal Cuts: 'This Is So Wasteful!'
President Donald Trump, who vowed when taking office to bring common sense to the federal government, said it is time to stop wasting money just to produce something no one wants.
“For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful! “ Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies. Let’s rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it’s a penny at a time,” Trump wrote.
Forbes noted that Trump was being conservative in his post.
The U.S. Mint said last year that it costs 3.69 cents to make each penny.
In its annual report, the mint said the cost “remained above face value for the 19th consecutive fiscal year.”
Making pennies led to a loss of $85.3 million for the U.S. Mint in the 2024 federal fiscal year.
The coin represented 54 percent of the 5.87 billion coins the Mint made that year.
President Trump just cancelled production of the penny.
He should do the same for the nickel.
People have been calling for this for many years.
In this CBS Sunday Morning story from 9 years ago, they pointed out the absurdity of paying more to make coins than they’re worth. pic.twitter.com/MJRXQIeV1L
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) February 10, 2025
The nickel also costs far beyond its value.
Each five-cent coin cost 13.78 cents to make, leading to a $17.7 million loss for the mint.
The Department of Government Efficiency had earlier called for phasing out the penny.
The penny costs over 3 cents to make and cost US taxpayers over $179 million in FY2023.
The Mint produced over 4.5 billion pennies in FY2023, around 40% of the 11.4 billion coins for circulation produced.
Penny (or 3 cents!) for your thoughts.
Sources:https://t.co/Y5LlrpyA62…
— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) January 22, 2025
“The penny costs over 3 cents to make and cost US taxpayers over $179 million in FY2023,” DOGE posted on X.
“The Mint produced over 4.5 billion pennies in FY2023, around 40% of the 11.4 billion coins for circulation produced. Penny (or 3 cents!) for your thoughts,” the post said.
However, Forbes noted that officially taking the penny out of circulation would likely mean an act of Congress.
The New York Post noted that in 2022, 58 percent of Americans polled were willing to ditch the penny.
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