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for the material worth of the "stuff" of which it is made (copper, silver, paper) it is in fact representative of and a means of exchange for real property or wage. That has long been the whole point of our symbolic worth. Ya can't very easily carry that baby grand Steinway or vintage Harley in your back pocket to exchange for the thoroughbred owned by the guy across town. And money is only ONLY! valuable as a convenient, portable, manipulable and MAGNITUDES of value more functional than barter.

Why not roll the dice? Oh that's the argument against it right there, huh? "If it ain't broke" and all that? We shouldn't GAMBLE with our currency policy? I suppose there's a point there. But doesn't our current economy with ever rising costs for fuel, food and shelter just beg for some radical approach? A new idea? A fresh perspective and/or "outside the box" thinking? Alas, also I am again brought to the fact that the level of risk is made minimal by the very puny value OF this coin! Doubling its denominative worth won't bring us back to 1929! In fact, for the first time in MY life, Uncle Sam gave me a virtual "no strings attached" bankroll of $600 this last fiscal year. That sure was radical, huh? Even more radical that it was the brain-child of a republican a *conservative* administration!

That, to me, seems strong persuasion toward a "go for it". Something does seem to need adjusting in our economy, no? Many experts have opined, among other things, that Western societies and its consumers are rather spoiled. We want more and more and want to wait longer and longer to pay for it. America's collective credit card debt is staggering. We seem to have a laissez faire attitude toward the relationship between consuming and working between getting and paying for what we get. There may even be a widening disconnect between the two!

I think the sheer novelty of increasing the penny's monetary value could be very stimulating to the economy especially among those who REALLY have very little. Among the rich, leaving a penny sitting on the ground will continue. But, among those who do literally count every cent, this may be a boon or a boom! Think, too, about the possible behavioral manifestations and/or effects. We may once again become acquainted with the idea of saving! Pinching pennies would become instantly twice as profitable. Maybe, therefore, twice as likely? Would Americans rediscover the idea of putting off spending until we actually have some money to spend? Wouldn't

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