For the past decade, the number of children with piggy banks has been on a steady decline. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that in 2008, children ages 0-13 owned an average of 2 piggy banks; this number has declined to 0-1 per child today.
Finance specialists suggest that this decline in ownership is due to the reduced appreciation of spare change in today’s society and the shift to online payment and credit cards.
The decrease in piggy banks has also resulted in a reduction in the noise pollution caused by the jingling of change in people’s pockets. The WHO found that there has been 0.4 decibel reduction in overall noise pollution in the past decade due to this decline in a jingling change. While this may not sound like a lot, the Jewish community has been listening carefully for this decrease and have been dreading its implications.
The Jewish population fears that this decrease in popularity of spare change could lead to less of it being dropped in public places. A prominent American Rabbi, David Malachi, expressed his concern asking “How can we be penny-pinchers if there are no pennies to pinch?”.
This is a valid concern; Since 2014, the average household income for a Jewish family has decreased by about $2 million from this loss of change. This number threatens to get worse if the current trend continues. Financial analyst John Schwartz predicts that the Jewish community could lose as much at $6 trillion in income in 2019 if piggy banks continue their current decrease.
This has become such a large issue for the Jewish community they are now sending protesters to Congress in large numbers to demand two policies be past to resolve the so-called “piggy crisis”. Below is a picture of one of their most recent protests in the capital.
The protestors’ first demand is for Congress to subsidize the piggy bank industry to avoid the closing of more manufacturers of piggy banks. They hope that this will make piggy banks more affordable to low-income families.
The Jewish community has also been holding protests outside local manufacturing plants that are closing to bring further awareness to the issue. Below is a picture of a recent protest outside one of these plants in New York.
The second policy change being requested is for a mandatory “spare change appreciation” class in all public schools in America. Many have even gone so far as to say this course should be valued over sexual education.
The call for spare change education in the United States has made some progress in the government with some high-ranking government officials including current Vice President Mike Pence throwing their support behind this policy.
Mr. Pence stated “The lack of respect for spare change in this country, frankly, is astounding. That is why I am backing this fantastic policy to educate America’s youth on the benefits of pennies”.
The Jewish community is hopeful that the new Democrat-controlled House will be more supportive of their protests and help pass the legislation needed to avoid further loss of income in the terrible piggy crisis of 2018
Speak the Truth Network 