Written by 5:41 pm life • 6 Comments

Penny for Your Thoughts?

Back in July, I had the pleasure of traveling to Sydney, Australia for the World Youth Day events. Now, documenting that experience is a post for another day. Today, I want to outline something that is proving to be very annoying here in North America, that the people “down under” don’t have to deal with. Pennies.

I know it sounds weird, to get frustrated over a few little pieces of copper, but think about it: they cost more to make than they’re worth, they take up a lot of room in your pocket/wallet, and almost no one uses them, so they pile up, unnecessarily. Surely, there must be a better way.

Well, there is, and this is what I’m getting at. The Australian government has discontinued pennies as legal tender, and instead rounded up (always up) the sticker price of items in stores to the nearest factor of $0.05. I presume that you’re thinking “Up?! But that’s more expensive! How is that better?” Don’t worry, they’ve thought of that. To balance costs for the consumer, they’ve reduced sales tax to roughly 10%. I think that’s something that most people can be happy with.

I just think that this a great system that’s convenient for everyone.

Do you think something like this would work in Canada/US?

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Last modified: August 10, 2015
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