Picking up pennies' pass?

Matt:

Settle an argument. My friend and I were walking across campus the other day, and I stopped to pick up a penny. My friend thought it was stupid for me to go to all the trouble of picking up a penny. She says she wouldn't bother for anything less than a dime. I say a penny is a penny, and sooner or later I'll have a dime. And besides there are lots more pennies on the ground than dimes. Whos' right?

-- One Cent Richer, SDSU

Hey, that economics class is coming in handy already. The only way to settle this is to ask what else you could be doing with your time that would bring more income. Say it takes a second to spot the penny, two seconds to pick it up, and two seconds to get your head to stop spinning and put the penny in your pocket, that means you're earning 12 cents a minute, $7.20 an hour. Beats flipping burgers. And the sunshine and fresh air is a bonus.