Fountain Pens: To Put a Fine Point on Shrinking Checks

By SAM URETSKY

The First Friday in November is National Fountain Pen Day. This year it was Nov. 4, In 2023 it will be on Nov. 3, a day to celebrate the fountain pen, for fountain pen stores to hold sales, and for collectors or just people who like fountain pens to rationalize buying another one.

There are several legitimate reasons for using a fountain pen, even if they do require a bit more effort than a ballpoint or rollerball. The act of writing requires very little effort, they improve your handwriting so that your notes are more legible, and they are status symbols. the others at the Board of Directors meeting will notice. This year though, they have an extra benefit — they can help cope with inflation.

In past years, United States Currency was much larger than it is now. Modern circulating United States Federal Reserve Notes are about 30% smaller than they were before 1929, when the nation’s banknotes shrank in size from a standard 7.38 by 3.13 inches to the current 6.14 by 2.61 inches. The shrinking dollar was an attempt to cut costs by using less paper. and it was one of the few government cost cutting schemes that worked.

Meanwhile, of course, prices were going up, so that the value of the dollar was shrinking faster than the size. There are many causes of inflation, supply shortages, greedy corporations, people who need salary increases to keep up with inflation from other causes. Once corporations see that other corporations are raising prices without losing sales, they jump on the bandwagon and raise their own prices, and once people see that lots of prices are going up, they expect prices to go up, grumble, vote for the party that’s out of power, and try to adjust their shopping patterns or get in line at the food bank.

In 1971, President Nixon announced a price freeze on almost everything. President Ford came up with the slogan Whip Inflation Now (WIN) and people were supposed to wear WIN buttons (they didn’t). Inflation in 1974 was 12.3%, mostly due to the OPEC oil crisis. Even without a major financial crisis, like the Ukraine war shortages, time can erode the value of savings. Even at a modest 2% inflation rate, an item that cost $100 at age 65 will cost about $148 if you can last another 20 years.

Of course there is the opposite of inflation: deflation, when prices start falling and money increases in value. This sounds good, but it’s not, unless you have a steady job with a mattress filled with cash. When there’s widespread deflation, demand for all products falls far below supply, simply because people don’t have enough money to buy all the stuff companies are geared up to produce. That results in cutbacks in investment, layoffs, and general misery all around. If all prices fall, it’s a disaster. Falling prices means lower revenue and profit margins for companies, which leads to cutbacks in investment, layoffs, less hiring, stagnant wages, and pay cuts. People with low incomes have less money to spend, which tends to lock the cycle in place. Inflation is a measure of growth, at least as long as it’s kept within the 2-3% range.

So what does this have to do with fountain pens? Consider that the Allies won World War II without penicillin or ballpoint pens. The Parker 51 was, if not the pen that won the war, at least the best selling pen of all time. Now, fountain pens are used mostly for writing checks. The National Education Association has been reporting on the debate whether schools should teach cursive writing – has it become superfluous in a world of laptops and keyboards? There are legitimate arguments on both sides, but check writing still works best with pens. The trouble is, as prices rise, there’s more to write, and a limited amount of space on the “amount” line. Consider:

Three dollars

Three hundred dollars

Three hundred twenty dollars

Either we’ll have to make checks bigger or writing smaller. The Japanese have taken the lead, reviving the nibs (pen points) from past years. Instead of broad, medium, and fine, they’ve brought back extra fine, and even ultra extra fine. You can get more letters in the same space. It won’t reduce prices, but at least it reduces the aggravation of trying to squeeze the letters together. Of course Japan has had the lowest inflation rate of all the major economies (3%) but with wage stagnation they’re still feeling the pain. Also Japanese infrastructure costs, such as electricity and gas rates, have increased by more than 20%, and food prices have risen by around 10%. Until the check printers make larger checks, thinner letters are the best option we have.

Sam Uretsky is a writer and pharmacist living in Louisville, Ky. Email sdu01@outlook.com.

From The Progressive Populist, December 15, 2022

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