Cash In With the Money & Retirement Issue

Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department announced plans to put President Donald Trump’s signature on all new paper currency. Trump’s bushy scrawl will replace the signature of the treasurer, which, along with treasury secretary’s, traditionally has graced U.S. greenbacks. The move coincides with efforts to put Trump’s face on a coin, despite a federal law prohibiting the likeness of living presidents on money.

You could be forgiven for looking at the run date of this issue and thinking those are April Fools’ jokes. While undoubtedly gauche, the efforts are real. But the joke may ultimately be on Trump — and not just because he missed a golden opportunity to stamp his copper-hued mug on the penny, which was discontinued earlier this year.

While the U.S. is minting more money than ever before, Americans are using cash less and less. In 2024, just 14 percent of all consumer transactions were made that way. While new money may bear Trump’s John Hancock, most of us will rarely see it, if ever.

If mobile banking and payment apps haven’t quite ushered in a cashless society, that day is likely coming. Yet Vermont, it seems, hasn’t gotten the memo. In the return of our “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” column, we investigate why the state keeps building bank branches, which are going the way of Blockbuster Video stores everywhere else.

One cohort that will most likely avoid using Trump bucks at all costs: anyone who attended “No Kings” protests around the state last weekend. At those rallies and many others in recent months, elder protesters have led the way, donating their time, experience and organizational skills. We don’t know if comedian Gordon Clark was out in the streets, but given the political bent of the 66-year-old retiree’s material, we bet he was — perhaps marching alongside the younger Vermont comics he’s helped showcase.

Burlington’s “No Kings” protest drew thousands of frustrated citizens downtown. City leaders may face a similarly angry mob if they can’t find a way to avoid another large tax hike.

Maybe they should ask the folks at Burlington’s Myti for ideas. Granted, Myti is an online shopping platform, not a government agency. But it sure is innovative, as evidenced by its new Myti local Finder, a browser extension that redirects users to local options when shopping on Amazon and the like.

Keeping money in-state is key to a healthy Vermont economy, especially when a dollar doesn’t stretch as far as it used to. Remember when a dozen bagels cost seven bucks? It was 2006. We know that because the Seven Days food team kept the receipts — literally. That same dozen now runs $13, one of many examples of how food and meals have become more expensive.

It’s relatively easy to track how inflation and other costs have affected food prices. Trends in the art world can be more elusive, given that even artists aren’t quite sure how much to charge for art.

They could take a cue from Burlington restaurant Gold, which lures customers with a vintage special that seems too good to be true. The Old North End hot spot is the only Vermont eatery we know of that still offers a dollar oyster deal. In other words, you can down four mollusks for the price of a single gallon of gas.

The original print version of this article was headlined “A Balanced Account | Cash in with the Money & Retirement Issue”