Kevin Drum is irritated because William Safire wrote an op-ed for the New York Times in which he tries to be "contrarian" by suggesting the abolition of the penny. As Kevin points out, this is not a new idea by any means, so what Safire thinks he's acting in contrary to is beyond me.
But in keeping with the post below, I'm reminded of an episode of The West Wing! The episode "War Crimes" has Sam Seaborn wrestling with that very issue. At one point he drops into Leo McGarry's office (Leo is the White House Chief of Staff), while Leo is conferring with a high-ranking military officer. Sam asks Leo if he has a moment, and this exchange takes place:
LEO: We're working to eliminate genocide. What are working to eliminate?
SAM: The penny. (beat) I'll come back later.
I personally understand the arguments for ditching the penny, but if we do, I hope that we color some other coin copper. I just like that gleam. (Yes, I do tend to pick up pennies when I see them on the ground.) Mostly, though, I don't care.
The personal blog of author Kelly Sedinger, chronicling the adventures of one overalls-clad wanderer.
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