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| Re: Canada Eliminates Penny (925339) | |||
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Re: Canada Eliminates Penny |
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Posted by 5301 Fishbowl on Fri Mar 30 11:58:01 2012, in response to Canada Eliminates Penny, posted by DAND124 on Thu Mar 29 20:24:25 2012. An interesting follow up article from The Toronto Star:Penny’s demise won’t change people’s lives Liam Casey Staff Reporter No one ever takes a penny. That’s because it lost its street cred years ago. They are transient, spending time in a pocket before being given away to a restaurant, the wishing well or a dusty jar. In fact, a restaurant on College St. stopped using them a long time ago. No one is sure when, but they do know why. “I was lazy,” said Signe Lewis, a server at Utopia. “We don’t want pennies, customers don’t want pennies and now it’s just part of our training. It’s what we do.” “And we have no space for it in our till,” added Andrew Smith, another server at the restaurant in Little Italy, The toonies sit in the penny’s old spot, while one-cent coins are tucked at the back of the register, for financial emergency. “I usually just take them home,” Lewis said. “We usually round in the customer’s favour. Not once in all my years here has someone complained about not getting a penny. I mean, it’s worthless, really.” On Thursday, the federal government killed the penny in a move that is expected to save taxpayers $11 million. Clerks at nearby Soundscapes were startled at the news. “What will we do with prices?” asked Colin Medley, shortly after giving two pennies to a customer. “I have no idea,” said Carly Ogonek, “I guess we should tell the owner.” Neither respected the penny much, although Ogonek was nostalgic, yet couldn’t elucidate why. “I guess I don’t like change,” a laughing Ogonek said, pun not intended. Everyone, it seems, has a jar of pennies at home, waiting to be rolled into stacks worth half a loonie or, like a surprising number of those interviewed by the Star Thursday, tossed into the garbage. Many reminisced about rolling pennies and learning the value of money. Of course, 300 pennies will still get you a lift on the TTC, something Dana Burke recently did. Comic books could be had for just 10 pennies in the 1940s, but now it’s at least $3 for the latest Spider-Man, making the penny nothing more than a nuisance for Joe Kilmartin, manager of The Comic Book Lounge and Gallery. “One cent is just not what it used to be,” he said. One man wearing penny loafers refused to discuss news of the cent’s demise. “I just have nothing profound to say about the penny,” he said. |
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