Most Americans feel like they’re being asked to tip now more than ever, studies show. Everywhere they go, from salons to dispensaries to coffee shops, customers are greeted with digital point-of-sale systems (often accompanied by the now-common phrase, “It’s just going to ask you a question…”) that prompt tips ranging up to 30%. There’s even a phrase for the phenomenon: “Tipflation.”

According to credit card processor Square, and as reported by CBS, nearly 75% of remote transactions in food and beverage now ask for a tip, including online orders and at self-service kiosks. At the same time, there’s also a wave of restaurants nationwide slowly shifting away from tipping, opting instead to raise menu prices to support higher hourly employee wages.

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Due to its prevalence in our everyday lives, it wasn’t surprising that tipping showed up on the ballot during this election, both literally — with a Massachusetts proposal to eliminate the tip wage that could serve as a model for other states — and more figuratively, as both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris signaled in their campaigns that they might support eliminating taxes on tips.

Both these suggested shifts to tipping culture are incredibly controversial, and the way voters responded to them also reveals just how complex and divided public opinion on the practice is — among both workers and customers.

Tipping in the United States has roots in the post-Civil War era, when wealthy Americans traveling to Europe returned with the habit of giving gratuities to workers in service positions. The practice was initially met with resistance because of its feudal undertones, but eventually it gained traction by the late 19th century, particularly in the hospitality and restaurant industries. However, tipping........

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