Jump to content
  • Sign Up
×
×
  • Create New...

Americans leave large sums at airport security checkpoints—what it means for the debate over getting rid of pennies


Recommended Posts

  • Diamond Member



Americans leave large sums at airport security checkpoints—what it means for the debate over getting rid of pennies

Credit: The Conversation

Should the U.S. get rid of pennies, nickels and dimes? The debate has gone on for years. Many people argue for

This is the hidden content, please
on
This is the hidden content, please
. Others call for
This is the hidden content, please
because the government loses money minting low-value coins.

One way to resolve the debate is to check whether people are still using small-value coins. And there’s an unlikely source of information showing how much people are using pocket change: the

This is the hidden content, please
, or TSA. Yes, the same people who screen passengers at airport checkpoints can answer whether people are still using coins—and whether that usage is trending up or down over the years.

Each year, the

This is the hidden content, please
This is the hidden content, please
to Congress
This is the hidden content, please
is left behind at checkpoints. A decreasing amount of change would suggest fewer people have coins in their pockets, while a steady or increasing amount indicates people are still carrying coins.

The

This is the hidden content, please
shows that during 2023, air travelers left almost US$1 million in small change at checkpoints. This is roughly double the amount left behind in 2012.

At first glance, this suggests more people are carrying around and using coins. But as a

This is the hidden content, please
This is the hidden content, please
who studies both travel and money usage—as well as a keen observer of habits while lining up at airport checkpoints—I know the story is more complicated than these numbers suggest.

What gets left behind?

More than

This is the hidden content, please
in the U.S., passing through
This is the hidden content, please
. Each flyer going through a checkpoint is
This is the hidden content, please
from their pockets such as wallets, phones, keys and coins in either a bin or their carry-on bag. Not everyone remembers to pick up all their items on the other side of the scanner. About
This is the hidden content, please
are left behind each month, the TSA estimates.

For expensive or identifiable items such as cellphones, wallets and laptops, the

This is the hidden content, please
department. For coins and the occasional paper bills that end up in the scanner bins, TSA has a different procedure. It collects all that money, catalogs the amount and periodically
This is the hidden content, please
to improve security operations.

That money adds up, with travelers leaving behind almost $10 million in change over the past 12 years.

Credit: The Conversation

The amount of money left varies by airport. JFK International Airport in New York City is consistently in one of the

This is the hidden content, please
, with travelers leaving almost $60,000 behind in 2022.
This is the hidden content, please
, which serves Las Vegas, also sees a large amount of money left behind.
This is the hidden content, please
, is often near the bottom of the list, with only about $100 lost in 2022.

People lose money while going through security for a few reasons. First, some

This is the hidden content, please
, and in their rush to avoid missing their plane, they don’t pick up everything after screening. Second, sometimes
This is the hidden content, please
, leaving people to again scramble to make up time. And finally, TSA checkpoints are often confusing and noisy places, especially for new or infrequent travelers. Making it more confusing is that
This is the hidden content, please
, which distract travelers who only quickly glance to check for all their items.

How much is lost?

TSA keeps careful track of how much is lost because the agency is

This is the hidden content, please
at checkpoints. TSA records show people left behind half a million dollars in 2012. This rose to almost a million in 2018. The drop in travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic reduced the figure back to half a million in 2020. In 2023, people left $956,000.

These raw figures need two adjustments to accurately track trends in coins lost. First, the numbers need to be adjusted for inflation. From 2012 to 2023, the

This is the hidden content, please
by 33%. This means a dollar of change in 2012 purchased one-third more than it did 12 years later.

Second, the number of people flying and passing through TSA screening has changed dramatically over time. In 2012, about

This is the hidden content, please
went through the checkpoints. By 2023, that had risen to 859 million people, which is about 1,000 people every 30 seconds across the entire U.S. when airports
This is the hidden content, please
.

Adjusting for both inflation and the number of people screened shows no change in the amount of money lost. My calculations show back in 2012 about $1.10 in coins was lost for every 1,000 people screened. In 2023, about one penny more, or $1.11, was lost per 1,000.

The peak year for money being lost was 2020, when $1.80 per 1,000 people was left behind. This was likely due to people

This is the hidden content, please
out of misplaced ***** they could contact COVID-19. During the pandemic, people in general carried less money.

The world is

This is the hidden content, please
. The data from TSA checkpoints, however, clearly shows people are carrying coins at roughly the same rate as back in 2012. This suggests Americans are still using physical money, at least for making small payments—and that the drive to get rid of pennies, nickels and dimes should hold off a while longer.

Provided by
The Conversation


This article is republished from

This is the hidden content, please
under a Creative Commons license. Read the
This is the hidden content, please
.

Citation:
Americans leave large sums at airport security checkpoints—what it means for the debate over getting rid of pennies (2024, May 21)
retrieved 21 May 2024
from

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.







This is the hidden content, please

Science, Physics News, Science news, Technology News, Physics, Materials, Nanotech, Technology, Science
#Americans #leave #large #sums #airport #security #checkpointswhat #means #debate #rid #pennies

This is the hidden content, please

For verified travel tips and real support, visit: https://hopzone.eu/

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Vote for the server

    To vote for this server you must login.

    Jim Carrey Flirting GIF

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

Important Information

Privacy Notice: We utilize cookies to optimize your browsing experience and analyze website traffic. By consenting, you acknowledge and agree to our Cookie Policy, ensuring your privacy preferences are respected.