HOME | DD

Description
February 5th, 2013
Spark Comic #57 - Death of a Penny's Worth

First off, I apologize for not updating lately. I've been so busy I've barely had any free time to myself and it's been driving me insane. Doesn't look like I'll have much free time in the near future either but I'll do what I can. No guarantees but expect there to be a comic next week Tuesday as usual.

Second, yes the Penny has finally begun to be phased out of Canadian Currency. This actually wasn't the comic I had planned this week. I made this at the last minute because I was getting a burrito for lunch yesterday, on February 4th, and at the cash register there was a sign saying how all pennies were being phased out. I wasn't shocked at that point, because I keep up with the news and remember when they announced this last year, much to my dismay, but I was surprised and saddened since I completely forgot about it and had no idea when they were implimenting it. As soon as I saw that, this comic idea popped into my head and I had to rush it to get it out today.

I was very sad and surprised to hear that the penny was going to be eliminated in Canada last year and I've been kinda sad seeing all these stores with their penny elmination notices everywhere. A lot of people say pennies are annoying, but to me, they meant something. Growing up especially when you only had an allowance of only a few dollars a week as a kid, you learn to save your money; to save every penny for that one thing you want. Pennies were like the first step of a thousand miles.

Pennies are being eliminated because it cost more to make pennies than the penny itself. I understand that, but in a way, at least as far as my understanding of economics and monetary theory was that this did help control inflation somewhat throughout the whole economy. You don't want your country's currency rising too much or too fast. Most of all though, pennies allowed for exact change in money. Now, everything's just going to be rounded to the nearest 5 cents. This may seem easier to wrap your head around, but at the same time, I can't help but feel like the government doesn't expect me to be capable of basic math. Plus, you know that, more often than not, prices and the new monetary system are going to be built around trying to round it up to the higher 5-cent margin. It's inflation at its finest... And most obvious.

They were small and seemed insignificant, but they were a sign of progress towards your end goal and is satisfying to save up small change, pennies especially, and put it towards something. It's for this reason that our society has built so many social concepts and philosophies over the penny. It's developed into so many different sayings and idioms: "A penny for your thoughts", "Worth every penny", "A penny saved is a penny earned", "I found a lucky penny." and countless more. Now those meanings mean nothing or if they still do mean something it's drastically different than what it was supposed to. This is going to become even more awkward as Canadian society becomes forced to adjust to reflect the loss of a penny. You can't really use the next lowest set of change, the Nickel, to replace the penny in most of these idioms; a nickel is 5 cents, it's already more than one; it's like a small leap forward as apposed to a first step. Despite it's lack of worth, I felt like a penny really had a profound meaning to human beings and society. It's a first step, it's one part of a greater whole. Adding a penny to your change could make all the difference in terms of being able to pay for something or how much change you get back. It was a defining element that could affect a large sea of change. A penny made a difference... And now it's gone... Yet another reason I'm dissatisfied with Canada under the rule of Stephen Harper.

The penny may be getting phased out, but I'll definitely be cherishing and saving my pennies from now on... Also, I can't help but imagine a guy in a stereotypical "gentlemen" outfit saying "A penny for your thoughts". I guess I'm just weird like that.

What are your thoughts on the loss of the penny?

See you next comic!

Description
February 5th, 2013
Spark Comic #57 - Death of a Penny's Worth

First off, I apologize for not updating lately. I've been so busy I've barely had any free time to myself and it's been driving me insane. Doesn't look like I'll have much free time in the near future either but I'll do what I can. No guarantees but expect there to be a comic next week Tuesday as usual.

Second, yes the Penny has finally begun to be phased out of Canadian Currency. This actually wasn't the comic I had planned this week. I made this at the last minute because I was getting a burrito for lunch yesterday, on February 4th, and at the cash register there was a sign saying how all pennies were being phased out. I wasn't shocked at that point, because I keep up with the news and remember when they announced this last year, much to my dismay, but I was surprised and saddened since I completely forgot about it and had no idea when they were implimenting it. As soon as I saw that, this comic idea popped into my head and I had to rush it to get it out today.

I was very sad and surprised to hear that the penny was going to be eliminated in Canada last year and I've been kinda sad seeing all these stores with their penny elmination notices everywhere. A lot of people say pennies are annoying, but to me, they meant something. Growing up especially when you only had an allowance of only a few dollars a week as a kid, you learn to save your money; to save every penny for that one thing you want. Pennies were like the first step of a thousand miles.

Pennies are being eliminated because it cost more to make pennies than the penny itself. I understand that, but in a way, at least as far as my understanding of economics and monetary theory was that this did help control inflation somewhat throughout the whole economy. You don't want your country's currency rising too much or too fast. Most of all though, pennies allowed for exact change in money. Now, everything's just going to be rounded to the nearest 5 cents. This may seem easier to wrap your head around, but at the same time, I can't help but feel like the government doesn't expect me to be capable of basic math. Plus, you know that, more often than not, prices and the new monetary system are going to be built around trying to round it up to the higher 5-cent margin. It's inflation at its finest... And most obvious.

They were small and seemed insignificant, but they were a sign of progress towards your end goal and is satisfying to save up small change, pennies especially, and put it towards something. It's for this reason that our society has built so many social concepts and philosophies over the penny. It's developed into so many different sayings and idioms: "A penny for your thoughts", "Worth every penny", "A penny saved is a penny earned", "I found a lucky penny." and countless more. Now those meanings mean nothing or if they still do mean something it's drastically different than what it was supposed to. This is going to become even more awkward as Canadian society becomes forced to adjust to reflect the loss of a penny. You can't really use the next lowest set of change, the Nickel, to replace the penny in most of these idioms; a nickel is 5 cents, it's already more than one; it's like a small leap forward as apposed to a first step. Despite it's lack of worth, I felt like a penny really had a profound meaning to human beings and society. It's a first step, it's one part of a greater whole. Adding a penny to your change could make all the difference in terms of being able to pay for something or how much change you get back. It was a defining element that could affect a large sea of change. A penny made a difference... And now it's gone... Yet another reason I'm dissatisfied with Canada under the rule of Stephen Harper.

The penny may be getting phased out, but I'll definitely be cherishing and saving my pennies from now on... Also, I can't help but imagine a guy in a stereotypical "gentlemen" outfit saying "A penny for your thoughts". I guess I'm just weird like that.

What are your thoughts on the loss of the penny?

See you next comic!