John Oliver admitted that he does not understand why the penny is still used as currency in the United States. The host of HBO's "Last Week Tonight" called for the end of the penny, which according to Oliver, could have a big result for the U.S. economy.
Over 8 billion new pennies are produced every year, according to Oliver, and each one actually costs more to make than it is worth. Oliver revealed that each new penny costs 1.7 cents to make, and that two-thirds of pennies don't even circulate. Oliver even told his audience that according to a 2002 Gallup poll, 2 percent of Americans admit to simply throwing pennies in the trash.
Oliver spent almost 10 full minutes on his tirade against the penny and even outlined the roadblocks to getting rid of it, Abraham Lincoln fans and a lobbyist group called Americans for Common Cents.
"Lincoln doesn't need the penny for notoriety - he's everywhere," Oliver said. "We've put him on novelty bandages, cup and ball games and creepy Chia Pets. And you know where else we put him? The five dollar bill! You know, the thing that's worth 500 times more than the penny."
Oliver also noted that other countries like Canada, Ireland, Australia, and more have dropped the penny completely, and the U.S. even did away with the half cent in 1857.
"Come on, let's dump the penny," Oliver ended. "Not because we need to, not because it will change a great deal. But because there are certain things we know are impossible to get rid of: terrorism, herpes and Guy Fieri. But the penny is a nuisance we could actually do something about. So let's do it, America - let's get the penny out of our pockets, out of our dogs, out of our fridges and out of our asses. We can do this!"
Check out the video below.
