Denmark's central bank Nationalbanken has decided to stop printing banknotes and minting coins by the end of 2016. Although physical currency will still be produced, the printing of it will be outsourced, Nationalbanken thinks spending money on more money is a waste of money:
As credit cards and digital banking take over modern economies, countries like Belgium, Ireland, and Austria are moving away from physical currency. The benefits seem inevitable: Transaction costs will be lowered, and crime will be traceable.
Nationalbanken believes the decision will save around $17.1 million in just four years. Perhaps more importantly, switching to digital would allow for monitoring of crimes such as laundering, tax evasion, and black market exchanges.
This is all well and good. But before the United States considers following suit, let's step back and think about what's important in our cash-centered lifestyle. What would happen if we switched too?
How would anyone make it rain in Jackass-related productions?
How boring would bank heist movies become?
The Danish can trailblaze their economy to safer streets and cheaper transactions, but America needs cash so that people can see how important we feel.
On the other hand, America does not need pennies.
Screw pennies.