pennies2025-02-13 12-48-25
Executive Orders-Laws, Finance, Political, Revenue

TRUMP Save Money while Making Money

TRUMP Save Money while Making Money

It costs MORE to make less money. Hold on printing $.01 & $.05
2024 – $85 Mn Loss
Penny cost $.037
Nickel cost $.14

pennies2025-02-13 12-48-25
pennies2025-02-13 12-48-25

Trump Orders Treasury to Halt Penny Production, Citing High Costs

President Donald Trump has announced that he has directed the U.S. Treasury Department to cease the minting of new pennies, citing the rising cost of producing the one-cent coin.

“For far too long, the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful!” Trump wrote in a Sunday night post on his Truth Social site. “I have instructed my Secretary of the U.S. Treasury to stop producing new pennies.”

A Swift Move by Trump’s Administration

This decision is the latest in a rapid-fire series of executive actions by Trump’s new administration, which has been aggressively pursuing sweeping changes through executive orders and proclamations. These efforts have spanned a wide range of issues, including immigration policy, gender and diversity initiatives, and even the naming of the Gulf of Mexico.

Although Trump did not discuss eliminating the penny during his 2024 campaign, the idea was recently raised by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Last month, DOGE highlighted the cost burden of the penny in a post on X (formerly Twitter), drawing renewed attention to the issue.

The Cost of the Penny

According to the U.S. Mint, the government lost $85.3 million in the 2024 fiscal year—which ended in September—due to the production of nearly 3.2 billion pennies. Each penny cost approximately $0.037 to produce, up from $0.031 the previous year.

The government also incurs losses on the nickel, which costs nearly $0.14 to mint—almost three times its face value.

Does Trump Have the Authority to End the Penny?

It remains uncertain whether Trump can unilaterally eliminate the penny. Under current law, currency specifications—including the size, metal composition, and continued production of coins—are determined by Congress.

However, Robert K. Triest, an economics professor at Northeastern University, has suggested that there might be some flexibility in the process.

“The process of discontinuing the penny in the U.S. is a little unclear. It would likely require an act of Congress, but the Secretary of the Treasury might be able to simply stop the minting of new pennies,” Triest said last month.

Efforts to Eliminate the Penny Have Been Ongoing

Over the years, multiple bipartisan proposals have been introduced in Congress aiming to suspend, eliminate, or phase out the penny. According to the Congressional Research Service, past legislation has sought to:

  • Temporarily halt penny production
  • Remove the coin from circulation entirely
  • Mandate price rounding to the nearest five cents

Advocates for eliminating the penny cite several key benefits, including:

  • Cost savings for the federal government
  • Faster checkout times at retail stores
  • Aligning U.S. policy with other countries that have already discontinued their one-cent coins

For example, Canada stopped minting its penny in 2012, opting instead to round prices to the nearest five cents.

Not the First Coin to Be Discontinued

If the U.S. were to eliminate the penny, it wouldn’t be the first time the country has retired a low-value coin. In 1857, Congress discontinued the half-cent coin, which had become increasingly impractical due to inflation and its diminishing purchasing power.

Trump and Musk’s Cost-Cutting Mission

Trump’s new administration has made government spending cuts a top priority, with Musk at the helm of a sweeping effort to identify $2 trillion in savings.

Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has already targeted entire federal agencies and large portions of the government workforce in its cost-cutting measures.

In his Truth Social post, Trump echoed this broader mission:

“Let’s rip the waste out of our great nation’s budget, even if it’s a penny at a time,” he wrote.

Sources:

Author: Ryan Bridglal, 02/13/2025