Pumps' Perplexities

Once again the penny has come up for discussion in the US
government as to its importance in trade....Every few years
someone questions the necessity of the poor penny in
the world of commerce.....

It seems the penny is costly to make....People save them...
And nothing costs a penny any more......"Let's just round
things off to the nearest nickel", they say.....

Do you know how much money will be made in the business
world if the penny is done away with.....Companies will
price their goods and services so that anything ending in
2.3 or 2.4 cents will be rounded out to 5 cents....That is a
gain of 2.6 cents on a transaction....When you have many
transactions these few cents add up to a lot of dollars....

To prove a point just look at how 4.5%, 5.5% and 6.5%
sales taxes are currently handled....A 75 cent newspaper
with a 4.5% tax totals 78.375 with tax...Some storekeepers
round it out to 78 cents others to 79....With no pennies
it would be 80 cents....The tax man will still get only his
3.375 cents while the merchant will pick up an additional
1.625 cents...It's a retailer's dream.....Pumps