PENNIES FROM HEAVEN

Washington Post Columnists Back Trump’s Plan to Scrap the Penny

Three columnists declared on their podcast that stopping minting pennies isn’t such a bad idea.

A group of Washington Post columnists have thrown their support behind Donald Trump’s latest crusade: killing off the penny. Post columnists Drew Goins, Molly Roberts and Megan McArdle shared their two cents on Monday’s episode of the podcast Impromptu, where they sided with Trump after he ordered the Treasury Department to stop minting pennies. McArdle said that if she sees a penny on the street, “I don’t bother to lean down and pick it up.” Goins agreed, saying, “It’s not worth my time. I walk right past it. I try to step on it like a crunchy leaf.” Roberts also sided with the group, noting that the value of pennies is lower than what it costs to make them. “Stopping the production of pennies could actually make some sense. No pun intended, I promise. It does cost more to mint one than it’s worth,” Roberts said. Trump first took aim at the penny in a TruthSocial post on Feb. 9, calling the coin “so wasteful!” He added: “Let’s rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it’s a penny at a time.” Trump’s announcement stopped short of calling for the pennies to be pulled out of circulation. According to the Coinage Act of 1965, the coins will remain legal tender, and changing that would need an act of Congress.