Big Tip? Small Tip? No Tip?
The Itching Palm

The Itching Palm is a 1916 social and economic critique by William Rufus Scott. The book is a sustained attack on the practice of tipping in the United States, which Scott viewed as an imported aristocratic custom incompatible with American democratic ideals. Scott argued that tipping fostered what he called “flunkyism”—a system in which workers were encouraged to be servile in pursuit of gratuities. He maintained that tipping: - Undermined the dignity and independence of workers.
- Allowed employers to shift labor costs onto customers.
- Reinforced class distinctions between those who gave tips and those who received them.
- Was inconsistent with a society based on equality rather than inherited status. The book examines tipping from multiple perspectives, including its economics, ethics, psychology, legal status, and effects on employers and employees. Chapters include “The Economics of Tipping,” “The Ethics of Tipping,” “The Psychology of Tipping,” and “Laws Against Tipping.” What’s striking is how modern some of Scott’s arguments sound. More than a century ago, he criticized the reliance of service workers on customer gratuities rather than employer-paid wages—a debate that continues in the United States today.