Tamara: Good morning, this is Tamara Benson, host of Book Talk. On today’s show, I’m interviewing Alex Quentin, the author of the new book Unlucky Penny. Alex, could you tell us a little bit about the book?
Alex: Thanks for having me on the show. To put it simply, Unlucky Penny is my attempt to convince the United States government to get rid of the penny.
Tamara: That certainly seems like quite the undertaking! What inspired you to write this book?
Alex: When I was young, I used to collect pennies. I had a huge jar in my room and I made sure to put at least one penny into it every day. I really wanted to save up to buy a bike. When I was ten, I finally filled the entire thing. I was so excited. I begged my dad to help me carry it to the bank so I could see how much I’d saved. I was …show more content…
Alex: Exactly. I was so disappointed. That was the day I made it my mission to eradicate the penny once and for all.
Tamara: Well, I understand your motivations, but it's going to take more than a personal story to convince the government! What are some of the main reasons you discuss in the book for why the U.S. government should do away with the penny?
Alex: First of all, it costs 2.4 cents to make a penny. Between the labor, the manufacturing process, and the raw materials, it actually costs the government more to make the penny than the penny itself is worth.
Tamara: That certainly seems to be a problem. What else did you find?
Alex: Well, the second main argument is that pennies just aren’t that useful. As I learned firsthand as a child, it takes quite a few pennies to add up to anything you’d really want to buy. Furthermore, you can’t use pennies in vending machines, toll booths, arcade games, or other coin-operated machines. More often than not, they just end up stuck in between your couch cushions, on the floor of your car, or in the trash. Therefore, I contend that we should just get rid of the penny and round up prices to the nearest
Alex: Thanks for having me on the show. To put it simply, Unlucky Penny is my attempt to convince the United States government to get rid of the penny.
Tamara: That certainly seems like quite the undertaking! What inspired you to write this book?
Alex: When I was young, I used to collect pennies. I had a huge jar in my room and I made sure to put at least one penny into it every day. I really wanted to save up to buy a bike. When I was ten, I finally filled the entire thing. I was so excited. I begged my dad to help me carry it to the bank so I could see how much I’d saved. I was …show more content…
Alex: Exactly. I was so disappointed. That was the day I made it my mission to eradicate the penny once and for all.
Tamara: Well, I understand your motivations, but it's going to take more than a personal story to convince the government! What are some of the main reasons you discuss in the book for why the U.S. government should do away with the penny?
Alex: First of all, it costs 2.4 cents to make a penny. Between the labor, the manufacturing process, and the raw materials, it actually costs the government more to make the penny than the penny itself is worth.
Tamara: That certainly seems to be a problem. What else did you find?
Alex: Well, the second main argument is that pennies just aren’t that useful. As I learned firsthand as a child, it takes quite a few pennies to add up to anything you’d really want to buy. Furthermore, you can’t use pennies in vending machines, toll booths, arcade games, or other coin-operated machines. More often than not, they just end up stuck in between your couch cushions, on the floor of your car, or in the trash. Therefore, I contend that we should just get rid of the penny and round up prices to the nearest