Mature Life Features

. . . but prepare your questions

for the Town Hall meeting at

4 p.m. Tuesday in the 2nd Floor Theater

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I don’t have to be patronized

by physical-health nuts

who show off their six-packs.

I just pat my tummy

and point out I have a keg.

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Penny Earned No Longer Worth It

The penny may soon be only in our thoughts, to paraphrase an old adage.

The wisdom of producing pennies is being questioned because the coin costs more than 2 cents to produce.

Canada quit making pennies a decade ago because it was costing 1.6 cents to produce 1 cent.

This relinquishing of the penny is a reminder of the pressures being exerted to do away with cash.

British lawmakers are mulling laws that would make sure that the less-than-20 percent of their population that relies on cash will receive their change in cash

Promoters of a cashless society argue that maintaining automated teller machines (currently paid for by the banks) is costly. Retailers and other businesses report accepting cash takes more time and costs more than payments made by store card, debit card, credit card or cryptocurrency.

And don’t forget that handy-dandy contactless-payment tool in your hand – the cell phone.

The pressures for change are not going away.

Next in the line of sight of those who want to abolish coins is the nickel. Their argument sounds familiar. It costs more to make a nickel than its worth – about 7 cents.

Britain is abolishing checks slowly but surely. They originally planned to dump checks in 2018 but it’s taking a bit more time to smooth out the wrinkles caused by their demise.

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