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.)