Elon Musk's Dog-Themed Government Efficiency Team Takes Aim at the Penny

Getting rid of the penny would be an early test of DOGE's influence: Could it help eliminate a piece of government inefficiency that has survived decades of reform attempts?

A post from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on the social media platform X highlighted the high costs of producing the penny, putting the coin's future in the spotlight once again.

The penny, which costs the federal government more to make than it's worth, has been a subject of debate for decades. But despite bipartisan agreement on the issue, efforts to eliminate or alter the coin have stalled in Congress.

Here's a closer look at the penny debate, DOGE's role in the discussion, and the future of the coin.

The penny costs the federal government more to make than it's worth.

In fiscal year 2023, the government spent more than $179 million in taxpayer money producing over 4.5 billion pennies, according to DOGE's post on X.

Each penny cost the government more than three cents to make, the post said.

(For context, the US Mint's 2023 report said that pennies and nickels combined cost taxpayers nearly $179 million, while pennies alone cost them $86 million.)

The high cost of the penny is largely due to the rising price of the material used to make the coin.

While the coins were originally pure copper, they've been nearly 98% zinc since 1982, according to JM Bullion.

But zinc isn't as cheap as it once was. According to the US Mint's 2023 report, the penny's unit cost increased by 12.9%, more than any other coin.

Fewer people are using cash at all these days, according to the Federal Reserve's 2024 report on consumer payments.

While the report doesn't break down penny usage, it found that 16% of payments in 2023 were made in cash, down from 18% the year before.

DOGE highlighted the declining cash usage in its post on X, writing that "less than 15%" of consumer payments were made in cash.

DOGE is a "temporary organization" within the government that's tasked with updating the federal government's IT systems.

The department was created by an executive order from President Donald Trump, which was officially published Monday.

DOGE's post on the penny is the first time the department has commented on anything other than software issues.

It's not clear from the post if DOGE plans to officially take on eliminating the penny — and Musk's group alone doesn't have the power to get rid of the coin.

Congress would need to pass a law stopping the distribution of the coin or, in theory, the Treasury secretary could decide that the nation doesn't need to make any more.

Other countries, including Canada and Sweden, have stopped producing their pennies, and the US ditched its half-cent coin in 1857.

Data for Progress, a progressive think tank, found in a 2022 survey that 58% of people agreed that the government should stop producing new pennies.