每一分钱都很重要：关于单美分硬币的事实

一分钱是美国造币厂于1792年建立后不久制造的第一批硬币。 。

The penny debate has been going on for decades, with no clear resolution in sight. Here's a closer look at the arguments for and against eliminating the one-cent coin.

一分钱的辩论已经进行了数十年，没有明确的解决方案。这是一个更仔细的观察，并反对消除单美分硬币的论点。

The main argument against the penny is that it costs more to make than its value. A 2024 U.S. Mint report says the unit cost for the one-cent coin is more than 3.69 cents and has exceeded its face value for 19 years. And according to a 2014 U.S. Mint report: “There are no alternative metal compositions that reduce the manufacturing unit cost of the penny below its face value.”

反对一分钱的主要论点是，它的成本要高于其价值。一份2024年的美国薄荷报告称，单美分硬币的单位成本超过3.69美分，超过了19年的面值。并根据2014年的美国薄荷报告：“没有其他金属成分可以将一分钱的制造单位成本降低到其面值以下。”

Producing pennies also takes a toll on the environment due to the carbon dioxide emissions, pollutants, and energy use associated with mining the ores to make the coins.

由于二氧化碳的排放，污染物和能源使用与挖掘矿石以制成硬币有关，因此生产的便士也会对环境造成损失。

But even costs aside, Harvard economist N. Gregory Mankiw argued against the one-cent coin on the basis of its lack of everyday utility, writing in a 2006 Wall Street Journal editorial: “The purpose of the monetary system is to facilitate exchange, but I have to acknowledge that the penny no longer serves that purpose. When people start leaving a monetary unit at the cash register for the next customer, the unit is too small to be useful. I know that some people will be upset when their favorite aphorisms become anachronistic, but a nickel saved is also a nickel earned.”

但是，即使是一定的，哈佛大学的经济学家N. Gregory Mankiw在2006年华尔街日报社论中写道：“货币体系的目的是促进交换，但我必须承认，一分钱不再有目的。当人们开始为下一个客户留下货币单位时，该单位太小而无法有用。我知道，当他们最喜欢的格言过时时，有些人会感到沮丧，但是保存的镍也是镍的。”

Indeed, according to the Federal Reserve, the purchasing power of a penny declined more than 30-fold between 1900 and 2022. In 2015, former U.S. Mint Director Philip N. Diehl wrote, “Today, the value of a penny has shrunk to the point that, if you earn more than the minimum wage, you’re losing money stopping and picking up a penny on the sidewalk.”

确实，根据美联储的说法，一分钱的购买力在1900年至2022年之间下降了30倍以上。2015年，美国前造币厂董事菲利普·迪尔（Philip N. Diehl）写道：“今天，一分钱的价值已经缩水到了指出，如果您的收入超过最低工资，那么您将损失钱停下来并在人行道上捡起一分钱。”

Not everyone is on board with pinching the penny. Mark Weller, executive director of the pro-penny group Americans for Common Cents (ACC), responded to DOGE on Jan. 23, asserting that the government “won’t save money if the penny is eliminated” and that such a move would instead “have a massive negative impact on the US Mint’s cost structure.” The group argues that eliminating the penny would require producing more nickels to “fill the gap in small-value transactions.” But nickels suffer from a similar “seigniorage” problem: the 2024 U.S. Mint report said the five-cent coins have a unit cost of 13.78 cents each.

并不是每个人都在捏一分钱。 Pro-Penny Group美国人普通美分（ACC）的执行董事Mark Weller在1月23日对Doge做出了回应，他断言政府“如果消除了一分钱，就不会省钱”，而这样的举动将相反“对美国造币厂的成本结构产生巨大的负面影响。”该组织认为，消除一分钱将需要产生更多的镍来“填补小价值交易中的空白”。但是镍含量类似“ Seignierage”问题：2024年美国薄荷报告说，五美分硬币的单位成本为13.78美分。

ACC also points to polling that shows Americans generally favor keeping the penny in circulation. (Other polls, however, say otherwise). And even the anti-penny comedian John Oliver can’t deny the sentimental value of chucking a penny into a fountain to make a wish or spitefully paying someone in a stash of one-cent coins.

ACC还指出民意调查表明，美国人通常赞成将一分钱保持流通。 （但是，其他民意调查）。即使是反个人公司的喜剧演员约翰·奥利弗（John Oliver）也无法否认将一分钱纳入喷泉的情感价值，以实现愿望或付出一个单身的付款，以单美分的硬币付钱。

Other arguments against the elimination of the penny come from economists who say that eliminating the one-cent coin would have disproportionate impacts on the poor. Retired Pennsylvania State University Prof. Raymond Lombra, a former senior staff economist at the Federal Reserve Board, has argued that a resultant “rounding tax” on consumers who use cash would be regressive because the poor tend to use cash more. An economics student in Canada, which stopped minting one-cent coins in

反对消除一分钱的其他论点来自经济学家，他们说消除单美分的硬币会对穷人产生不成比例的影响。宾夕法尼亚州立大学退休的宾夕法尼亚州立大学教授雷蒙德·洛姆布拉（Raymond Lombra）是美联储委员会的前高级职员经济学家雷蒙德·洛姆布拉（Raymond Lombra），他辩称，使用现金的消费者对消费者的“汇总税”将是回归的，因为穷人倾向于更多地使用现金。加拿大的一名经济学学生，停止在