All RP needs at the Debate is a single Penny

[Cam]

With the market and dollar tanking the American people have turned to worrying about pocket book issues. To show the voter's the debasement of the dollar all RP needs is a single pre-1982 penny.

The Fed and this fiat monetary system has destroyed the value of our money. All he has to do is hold up that penny and say that the copper content in this penny is now worth more then it's value as a coin. It is not that we have a shortage of copper, but an overabundance of dollars.

Now the politicos in Congress and the White House want to save the economy by inflating the currency again. It is not the cure for our ills, but only a placebo. We have to return to Constitutional Money.

We are printing ourselves into poverty. The other candidates don't even talk about monetary policy when it is the number one threat to America's future.

RP, I'm sure, could explain this better than I, but holding a penny up would be a strong illustration that everyone would understand.

[Kingfisher]

When and Where is the debate?

[JS4Pat]

When and Where is the debate?

Boca Raton, FL
Florida Atlantic University

Televised on MSNBC tonight from 9:00pm - 10:30pm

Moderated by Brian Williams and Tim Russert

[ike]

I think Ron's silver dollar would be more effective than the penny. Everyone knows pennies are worthless. Ron really got my attention once when he was talking about an old silver dollar, which was produced with .75 ounces of silver, which was equal to a dollar at the time. The silver in that dollar coin is now worth $14, which means the dollar is now worth 1/14th of what it was when that coin was minted.

I think that anecdote is more attention getting than a penny, plus it evokes the gold/silver standard pretty effectively.

[Cam]

I think Ron's silver dollar would be more effective than the penny. Everyone knows pennies are worthless.

I can see your point about the gold/silver standard. I believe most Americans have never held a silver dollar though. But, the penny's face value being worthless is the point of it all. Every American have used the penny. They can stick their hand in their pocket pull one out and think about it.

About $1.46 face value of pre82 pennies has a copper content worth over $3.17. So they are worthless as pennies, but copper is still needed in industry.

[Sauron]

http://www.coinflation.com/

[WilliamC]

"It used to be said that the dollar was as good as gold. Now it isn't even as good as copper. That's why it now costs more to make a penny than a penny is worth. That is what inflation does to our currency, and none of these other candidates are willing to talk about the problem, much less are they prepared to solve the problem. Runaway inflation is what will bankrupt our government and our citizens, and unless we get back to using constitutional, sound money, runaway inflation is inevitable."

[blakjak]

All he has to do is hold up that penny and say that the copper content in this penny is now worth more then it's value as a coin.

This has been the case for a long time, even before the weak dollar. The cost of producing one penny has almost always been more than 1 cent.

[killatop]

I think Ron's silver dollar would be more effective than the penny. Everyone knows pennies are worthless. Ron really got my attention once when he was talking about an old silver dollar, which was produced with .75 ounces of silver, which was equal to a dollar at the time. The silver in that dollar coin is now worth $14, which means the dollar is now worth 1/14th of what it was when that coin was minted.

I think that anecdote is more attention getting than a penny, plus it evokes the gold/silver standard pretty effectively.

I agree...Silver Dollar would own the debate. Once you say, with this same dollar I could buy almost 5 gallons of gas. This is why we need a sound currency....at that point go ahead and blow the whistle and call the game.

[bbartlog]

The cost of producing one penny has almost always been more than 1 cent

Not if you go back a century. But in any case, there's a difference between talking about the cost of production (stamping, dies and all that) and the value of the metal content, which is what the guy you're responding to was talking about. The mint switched from copper to zinc back in 1982 because the cost of production was getting to be higher than .01 per penny, but it took until round about 2003 (when copper prices came off their $1 per pound low and passed $3) for the metal content itself to be worth significantly more than .01.
For what it's worth the nickel and copper in the nickel are also worth more than .05. Something like .07 last I checked, but of course the metal prices fluctuate.