WBUR TODAY: Penny problems
❤️ Donate Thursday, February 12, 2026 ☀️ Mostly sunny, with a high near 34. Good Morning Boston, It's Thursday. As Beacon Hill budget writers proverbially pinch pennies amid challenging conditions, one lawmaker is trying to tackle a more literal penny problem: Rounding era: What does exact change look like in a future with no pennies? Following the Trump administration's move to stop producing the increasingly worthless coins last year , a top Massachusetts lawmaker is pushing to clear up the confusion, as penny shortages begin to hit local stores. " This is actually more serious than I think anyone realized," state Rep. Tackey Chan, a Quincy Democrat who chairs the Legislature's consumer protection committee, told WBUR's Dan Guzman. The backstory: Just over a year ago, President Trump announced that he had instructed the U.S. Mint to stop making pennies. It was a move that came after decades of debate and had broad support among ...