Years ago, I suggested that we do away with the penny in the United States. Boy, did I hear it from a lot of listeners. People were not happy with me!

Canada has now done away with its penny. Is now the time for us to follow suit?

Pennies actually cost more than one cent to make and manufacture. Think about how easy it would be to do away with them. Let's say you go to a store and the price of something is 11 or 12 cents, it just rounds down to 10 cents. If it's 13 or 14 cents, it rounds up to 15 cents. That rounding makes us exactly even-steven over time.

When I was a kid, I can remember walking to a country store where we got a little bag to pick out penny candy. Depending on the size of the candy, you got several pieces for a penny and walked out with a little paper bag full of sweet stuff. A penny actually had value.

Then I can remember when I was first driving and a penny would buy 15 minutes of parking at a meter. Now you can't even put a penny into a parking meter anywhere that I know of.

Why do we hold onto this coin psychologically when, as a practical matter, we have to accept that neither a penny nor a dollar buy what they used to?

Vote in my poll on ClarkHoward.com and let me know what you think!