We live in a world that is run by dollars and cents. The currency we have defines our country and our culture. In the United States, we have dollars, quarters, nickels, dimes and pennies.

But in this fast-paced world, some people think the penny is too old-fashioned.

Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., has introduced a bill called the “Legal Tender Modernization Act” which would require businesses to round transactions up or down to the nearest five cents. With this, the penny would become a coin of the past.

In the end it will all even out, according to Kolbe, with some businesses rounding up while others are rounding down. But critics of the penny bill don’t think it will be that easy.

The problem is that over time pennies add up. Plus, I can’t believe businesses would ever want to round down.

People storing pennies has been a problem for years. It may be costing the county more to print pennies than the copper coin is worth.

Most people save their pennies, therefore taking the pennies out of circulation. The Philadelphia and Denver Mints had to produce pennies 24 hours a day, six days a week in order to keep up with the penny shortage in 1999.

Just last year, 14.8 billion pennies were minted.

But since everyone is worried about the penny shortage, does that mean my bank had a penny surplus when I cashed in $25 in pennies?

And this isn’t the first time the penny has been a problem. Similar bills have been introduced before. Yet, the penny has survived.

Over 60 percent of the people interviewed for the 1990 Gallup Poll were strongly opposed to legislation that would have discontinued the penny.

The penny was the first type of currency used in the United States. It’s part of our heritage. More than 300 billion pennies with 11 different designs have been minted since 1787.

In a Gallup Poll, 92 percent of Americans agreed that the penny is a “long-standing tradition in this county” and should not be discontinued.

Think of all the common phrases and folklore associated with pennies in our culture.

“A penny for your thoughts.”

“Pick a penny heads up and all day long you will have good luck.”

“A penny saved is a penny earned.”

Pennies are a part of the American culture, like baseball and apple pie. I would hate to think of my children only seeing pennies in museums and never saving them in a piggy jar.

Besides, if we eliminate pennies, how long before nickels are considered the worthless currency?

Kolbe needs to forget about counting pennies and focus on more important issues.

He has very little evidence that the penny is really a problem. Americans like the penny. They are happy with the penny.

Plus, it seems to me that there are a lot more important problems in the United States than penny usage. If he were my representative, I would want him to focus his energies on immigration, the marriage amendment and trade with China. These are the issues that matter.

So please, let’s leave the poor penny alone.

Michelle Kann is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Garnavillo. She is editor in chief of the Daily.