Should Cashless Businesses Be Banned?

1. Set Focus
Frame the inquiry with these essential questions: In what ways does technology improve our lives? In what ways does it cause problems?

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 cashless businesses should be banned. The issue is timely because more and more businesses are deciding not to accept cash.)

• Evaluate why these two authors might be interested in and qualified to comment on this issue. (Ritchie Torres is the councilman who sponsored New York City’s recent ban on cashless businesses. Stephanie Martz is an executive at an organization that promotes the interests of retail businesses.)
  

3. Core Skill Practice
Project or distribute Analyzing Authors’ Claims and have students use the activity to analyze and evaluate each author’s arguments.

• Analyze Torres’s view. (Torres argues in favor of banning cashless businesses. He says not accepting cash discriminates against people who don’t have bank accounts or who lack access to most traditional banking services. He says that cash is crucial to an inclusive marketplace, as some people prefer paying in cash for privacy, budgetary, or familiarity reasons.)

• Analyze Martz’s view. (Martz argues against banning cashless businesses. She says the world is changing, and more and more people will be purchasing goods and services digitally. She also says that going cashless has many benefits, including reducing risks of robbery and employee theft, as there is no cash to steal, and speeding up checkout lines.)
  

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 cashless businesses be banned? 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.