Who is with Us?

We are not alone.

Talk of eliminating the penny is nothing new, and we can only hope that the quest to make it happen is closer than ever to success. Most recently, some highly educated, well-known individuals have decried the stubborn perpetuation of the penny. From political figures to professors, Citizens to Retire the Penny is not alone in its desire to usher the penny into a long-overdue retirement.

Prof. Robert Whaples

A professor of Economics at Wake Forest University, Whaples has long supported the elimination of the penny. He has done much research into the economic effects of the penny and its cost to produce.

Prof. Greg Mankiw

A presidential campaign advisor and professor of Economics at Harvard, Mankiw has advocated the elimination of the penny. "When people start leaving a monetary unit at the cash register for the next customer, the unit is too small to be useful," said Mankiw. Check out his blog to read more on his thoughts in support of this movement.

John Green

This NY Times best-selling author has posted on his tumblr and youtube channel about his dislike of pennies. Watch his brilliant anti-penny rant.

Hon. Jim Kolbe

The former Representative (R-AZ) sponsored the Legal Tender Modernization Act in 2002 and Currency Overhaul for an Industrious Nation (COIN) Act in 2006, which would have phased out the penny by specifying that cash transactions be averaged to the nearest 5 cents. This rounding would be done such that it favors neither the customer nor the retailer. The proposed legislation would not remove the penny from circulation, but would have provided a means for the penny to gradually fall out of use. Such legislation is a reasonable way to phase out the use of the penny.

Countries all over the world

Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Israel, Mexico, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, and Sweden have each eliminated the country’s lowest currency coin.

Citizens to Retire the Penny is not affiliated with or endorsed by the abovementioned individuals.