It’s time to set pride aside and realize it’s really a recession. I’m even saying that to myself.

Whenever I see loose coinage on the streets when I’m walking, at least 22 percent of me wants to pick it up (One percent for every year I’ve been a live to watch coins pass me by).

But it depends.

The probability of me picking up a quarter versus a penny is 100 to 1, though. Similarly, I’ll pick up a quarter before I pick up a nickel and before a dime; the only way I pick up other silver coins is if they happen to be lying by a quarter (and whoever dropped it really didn’t care about their cash liquidity).

But pennies? I see the worth and the value in them because I know they are valid currency, BUT something – pride, shame, or both – prevent me from bending down to clinch potential, yet small savings. My mind goes here, too: D.C. Metro fare card machines don’t accept pennies, and neither do Metrobuses, so why do I need to scrounge for them? America has taken the appeal of a penny with its brownish cooper, overpopulated qualities, and made it a shameful piece of the American dream.

I’m sure if pennies were rarer like their coin counterparts, they’d be sought out more.

But a Coinstar survey found that Hispanic people were very thrifty when it came to coin collecting. Nearly 92 percent of the respondents said they keep change in comparison to 77 percent a year ago, and “most are using these funds to help pay bills and other expenses, or saving it for a rainy day.” One in every six Hispanics surveyed said they collect and save coins to set a good example for their kids.

I also went on a search and Yahoo! Answers had an answer-forum for why people don’t pick up loose change, and a lady commented that she picks up loose pennies all the time, and accumulates an extra $1,000 a year, give or take. She takes vacations with that money! I have family members who sit those big, blue water jugs in the corners of their kitchens, and change just inadvertently accumulates over a short period of time simply because there are a few people who live in the house.

I couldn’t find results for African Americans or even Caucasians and Asians. But I inquired, so maybe I’ll be able to get back to you. But it makes sense, and it makes cents, too. With minority unemployment rates being as high as they are, there’s a lot of motivation in something like…oh, I don’t know…how about an EXTRA $1,000 A YEAR!!!!!!!…to step past your pride and bend over!