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June 10, 2024 Edition
Focus on Western Maine

In Oxford County, Norway is making headway

Laurie Schreiber

The downtown is seeing a surge of revitalization — including an old factory's conversion to an arts hub, and the reopening of parts of the Norway Opera House that were unusable for nearly 40 years.

Today's Poll

Should the U.S. phase out its use of the penny, as Canada did over a decade ago?
Poll Description

For decades, people have pondered the penny. Does a coin with so little value have any value at all in the U.S. economy? Does the reddish-brownish disc of copper and (mostly) zinc serve a useful purpose, perhaps even beyond its intended one?

As the New York Times reported recently, most of the pennies issued by the U.S. Mint are given out as change and then never spent. This creates an incessant demand for new pennies, so that change can be handed out in future cash transactions.

"In other words," Caity Weaver wrote for the Times, "we keep minting pennies because no one uses the pennies we mint." It's estimated there are 240 billion pennies in the U.S., the vast majority of which are sitting in coin jars, hiding beneath sofa cushions, or otherwise dormant.

To replace the lost money, the federal government literally loses money. Minting a single 1-cent coin costs more than 3 cents.

Faced with a similar dilemma, Canada phased out its use of the penny in 2013. Cash prices there are now rounded up or down to the nearest nickel or dime. Should the U.S. do the same?

No, say penny proponents. There is something very American about getting exactly the change you're entitled to. And the coin has its admirers. It's embedded in our language, our culture. The penny's portrait of Lincoln is the most reproduced piece of art on Earth. 

So this specie remains the most basic instrument of doing business. What's your 2 cents?

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