有意義的不是Cents Act，可以通過消除便士來節省美國納稅人數百萬美元

美國造幣廠的2024年年度報告表示，2024年的美分成本上升了20％，連續第19年，其單位成本保持在其面值之上

A bipartisan bill has been introduced in the Senate to eliminate the penny by 2025.

參議院已提出了兩黨法案，以消除2025年的一分錢。

The measure, titled the "Make Sense Not Cents Act," was unveiled by Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.

這項標題為“有意義的不是美分法”的措施是由R-Utah的Mike Lee和D-Ore的Jeff Merkley揭示的。

It would phase out the production of the 1-cent coin over two years.

它將在兩年內逐步淘汰1美分硬幣的生產。

"Minting pennies costs the American taxpayer millions every year — nearly four times more than the pennies are worth," Lee said in the bill's press release. "No private business would produce something at a 4x loss. It's time to stop wasting Americans' hard-earned tax dollars making overpriced pennies."

李在該法案的新聞稿中說：“每年鑄造的便士每年花費數百萬美元的價格，是便士價值的四倍。” “沒有私營企業會以4倍的損失產生一些東西。是時候停止浪費美國人辛苦賺來的稅金了。”

The U.S. Mint's 2024 Annual Report stated that the unit cost for pennies rose by 20% in 2024, and for the 19th year in a row, its unit cost remained above its face value, at 3.69 cents.

美國造幣廠的2024年年度報告指出，2024年，便士的單位成本上升了20％，並且連續第19年，其單位成本保持在其面值高於其面值的3.69美分。

Penny production last year came to a gross cost of $117 million, per the report.

根據報告，去年的一分錢產量為1.17億美元。

The bill would also require the U.S. Mint to submit a report to Congress on the cost of producing each coin and the relative purchasing power of the smallest coins in increments of 5 cents.

該法案還將要求美國造幣廠向國會提交一份報告，內容涉及生產每枚硬幣的成本以及最小硬幣的相對購買力，以5美分的增量增量。

"The penny no longer serves a useful purpose and is a drain on taxpayers," Merkley said. "We can do better than continuing to mindlessly produce coins that lose money and don't serve the public good."

默克利說：“一分錢不再實現有用的目的，並且是納稅人的消耗。” “我們可以做得更好，而不是繼續盲目生產損失金錢且不服務於公共利益的硬幣。”

The move comes as the U.S. could join other countries that have dropped their lowest currency.

此舉是因為美國可以加入其他貨幣最低貨幣的國家。

In the 1990s, Australia and New Zealand stopped 1- and 2-cent penny production. Then in 2006, New Zealand stopped producing its 5-cent coin as well, according to Nasdaq.

在1990年代，澳大利亞和新西蘭停止了1-和2美分的一分錢生產。納斯達克（Nasdaq）表示，在2006年，新西蘭也停止生產其5美分的硬幣。

Canada followed suit in 2012, removing 6 billion pennies from circulation over three years, GovMint reported. The decision was made due to "rising production costs exceeding the face value of the coin and a decline in the penny's purchasing power over time," the site reported.

據Govmint報導，2012年加拿大在2012年效仿，從三年中撤離了60億便士。該網站報導，該決定是由於“生產成本上升超過了硬幣的面值，並且一分錢隨著時間的推移的購買力下降。”

When the Bahamas stopped producing its lowest valued coin in 2020, Lisa Cook, a former White House aide during the Obama administration, told the BBC that "I think the public in rich, industrialized countries is becoming less and less wedded to coins, generally."

當巴哈馬在2020年停止生產其最低價值的硬幣時，奧巴馬政府期間的前白宮助手麗莎·庫克（Lisa Cook）告訴英國廣播公司（BBC），“我認為，富人，工業化國家的公眾通常變得越來越不熟悉硬幣。”

"After Canada stopped minting the penny in 2012, I think policymakers in other industrialized countries will be more willing to eliminate lower-value coins," she added.

她補充說：“在加拿大在2012年停止鑄造一分錢之後，我認為其他工業化國家的決策者將更願意消除低價值硬幣。”

In the same 2024 annual report, the U.S. Mint reported that the unit cost for nickels has also remained above face value for 19 consecutive years, at 13.78 cents.

在同一份2024年的年度報告中，美國造幣廠報告說，鎳的單位成本連續19年一直保持在面值的高於13.78美分的情況下。

The total amount spent on nickel production in 2024 was about $27.8 million.

2024年在鎳產量上花費的總額約為2780萬美元。

While Lee's bipartisan bill does not mention nixing nickels, The New York Times entertained the idea.

雖然李的兩黨法案沒有提到尼克斯鎳，但《紐約時報》卻娛樂了這個想法。

"Having just two coins could hasten a trend away from physical currency that is already underway," the Times wrote.

《泰晤士報》寫道：“只有兩枚硬幣可以加快趨勢遠離已經在進行的實體貨幣。”

The Federal Reserve reported that in 2023, the average American made only seven cash payments, and the number has been consistent since 2021. Further, between 2016 and 2023, cash payments decreased from 31% of all transactions to 16%.

美聯儲報導說，2023年，美國平均只支付了7次現金，並且自2021年以來的數字一直保持一致。此外，在2016年至2023年之間，現金支付從所有交易的31％下降到16％。