Is It Time to Eliminate the Penny?

1. Set Focus
Frame the inquiry with these essential questions: What is money? How does money differ from currency? How are different denominations—or currency amounts—relevant to a functioning economy??

2. Read and Discuss
Have students read the debate and then answer the following questions:

• What is the issue being debated? How does it relate to current events? (The issue is whether the U.S. should stop using the one-cent coin as a form of currency. With fewer people shopping during the pandemic, there’s been a shortage of coins in circulation, which has renewed the debate over whether the U.S. should eliminate the penny.)

• Evaluate why these two authors might be interested in and qualified to comment on this issue. (Whaples is a professor of economics. Weller heads a group that favors keeping the penny and has a financial interest in doing so.)

• Analyze Whaples’s view. (Whaples argues in favor of eliminating the penny. He equates the one-cent coin to litter that wastes our time by adding two seconds to the average retail transaction. He also says that getting rid of the penny will save the government minting costs, not result in higher costs for consumers, and be better for the environment.)

• Analyze Weller’s view. (Weller argues against eliminating the penny. He says that if we drop the penny, transactions would have to be rounded to the nearest nickel, making goods and services more expensive. He also says the penny is important to people who rely on cash, helps charities raise money through penny drives, and is less costly to mint than nickels—which we might need more of without the penny.)
  

4. Writing Prompt
In an essay, evaluate one of the debaters’ arguments. Assess whether the reasoning is valid and whether it’s supported with evidence. Point out biases or missing information.

5. Classroom Debate
Should the U.S. eliminate the penny? Have students use the authors’ ideas, as well as their own, in a debate..

6. Vote
Go online to vote in Upfront’s poll—and see how students across the country voted.