Thesis: Although this copper coin may be seen as "unnecessary" and "outdated", the penny remains an important, popular memoir of American values and history and therefore should not be abolished based on the sole grievances of some individuals such as representative Jim Kolbe about its size and usage.
Source B gives examples of specific American leaders (i.e. Paul Revere and Abraham Lincoln) who are tied to the production of the penny. These specific examples create a bond between the penny and the United States' history. In addition, this source draws on a statistic from the "National Association of Convenience Stores" that shows that "handling pennies [only] adds 2 to 2.5 seconds to each cash transaction". This concludes that not only does the penny serve as a stronghold for American history, but it also does not prove to be as "unnecessary" and "pesky" as it was previously described by Jim Kolbe.
Source D utilizes a common man's letter to American representatives regarding the impracticality of abolishing the penny. Through this letter, he explains that the penny is "popular with the public" and "important to our pricing system". Both the public and the writer of this letter, most likely feel that the penny remains an American heirloom that is engraved into our society's every day life and because of this should not be removed.
Source E is a poll that includes statistics on who favors abolishing the favor and who opposes abolishing the penny. Each category, including the lower income categories, had more people opposing the abolition of the penny than people who favored the abolition of the penny. Even though the lower income individuals might be told that the penny is useless to them and will be more difficult to use financially, they still believe in the penny because it is so much a part of the American culture. Perhaps these statistics also embody the historical American notion of patriotism as both the lower class and the upper class agree on the fact that the penny should stay as it is a great part of the American lifestyle.
Kaitlin,
ReplyDeleteI love the last part you mentioned about the "historical American notion of patriotism" because it connects the penny to something much bigger than its intrinsic worth. I also like how you turned a source that was initially meant to be against the penny (source B) into material that you could use to support your argument. Good job,
Elizabeth
Kaitlin, although I agree with Elizabeth that you did a great job explaining why the penny is important to American culture, I have to disagree with you about the role of culture as it relates to our currency. The production of the two dollar bill was stopped the same way that some Americans want the penny to be, because of it's increasing irrelevance to modern currency, even though it too has a rich cultural background. The penny will always be important to American history and will always be a part of American culture, but that does not mean that our economy needs to suffer for it.
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