Penny Is Gone, but Inflation Still Targets Your Dollar
Congress axed the penny, but the real villain—inflation—is still eroding every dollar in your wallet.
The penny is dead. Congress finally pulled the plug, and plenty of people are celebrating the end of a coin that cost more to mint than it was worth. But here's the thing nobody in Washington wants to talk about: killing the penny doesn't kill the disease. Inflation does that to money. It just took the penny first.
Think about what inflation actually is — a slow, relentless tax on every dollar you hold. The penny became worthless because decades of rising prices made one cent functionally useless. That same force is still working on your dollar, your savings account, and your paycheck right now. The penny was just the canary.
Read more Census Data: US Incomes Up, Poverty Down in 2025 →
Congress is taking a victory lap for eliminating a symptom. That's like celebrating that you threw out a moldy piece of bread while ignoring the broken refrigerator. The purchasing power of the dollar has taken a serious beating over the past several years, and no legislative housekeeping fixes that structural problem.
For retail traders and everyday investors, this is the tradeable angle: inflation erodes cash-equivalent positions faster than most people realize. Sitting in dollars feels safe. It isn't. Real assets — equities, commodities, inflation-linked bonds — exist precisely because paper money loses ground over time. The penny's obituary is really a reminder to check your own portfolio's inflation exposure.
Washington solved a PR problem. You still have a money problem. Continue reading at MarketWatch.com.
