Get rid of the penny
No one likes small change. It costs the US 1.7 cents to produce every penny and counting out change costs everyone in productivity.
As far as I can see, there are only two reasons the penny hasn't been replaced by rounding 1) the zinc lobby 2) so grandstanding politicians can talk about how frugal they are.
The wastefulness of the penny is a measure of how dysfunctional Washington is. But it's not just the United States. Japan and many Eurozone countries continue to mint coins that no one wants or needs.
