Post by TrekBeatTK on Feb 4, 2013 23:21:02 GMT -5
On one of the IMDb message boards I frequent, a Canadian mentioned that they are no longer minting pennies and are phasing them out of use. I think this is a terrible and frightening proposition. She provided me with this link:
www.mint.ca/store/mint/learn/eliminating-the-penny-6900002#.URB5LBySYzt
Apparently they are encouraging rounding off the totals for people who pay cash. Electronic payments are not affected, which already means an unfair distinction in payment. Depending on what change is due, the total may either be rounded up favoring the vendor, or rounded down favoring the consumer. She says, "If a guy gives me a $10 for his $9.98 purchase, he gets no change, losing two cents. Giving $10 for a $9.97 purchase gets you a nickle back, two extra cents."
Here's my response:
Which means I'm getting robbed of two cents if I'm not carrying exact change. And two cents may not seem like a big deal, but when you consider every purchase you make, those two cents add up quickly. Or vice versa, if more people end up getting back nickels than a couple cents. Will this net a gain or a loss for the store? It's not going to all come out in the wash.
I can see making it a policy to only give change if people ask for it, or to ask first. I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who would refuse it because they don't care. But others of us want it. And this "it's only a few cents" thinking is EXACTLY the sort of thing that causes great damage to societies; when the public is led to believe it's fine to ignore something because it appears insignificant. I object not because I care about the penny (though I do) but because of the principle. It's government-sponsored theft. That's what it is. Either from the retailer or the customer.
What becomes of all those extra cents that end up in the till? In a single day, that's going to amount to real money. Over a week, a month, a year, those extra pennies that you aren't giving as change will add up significantly. Now the books will say that officially you have so much money based on what was charged, but stores will end up with an actual surplus based on this policy. And where does that money go?
It's like in the States there are these credit cards that give people "free money" every time they use it. And nobody questions where that money comes from??
Color me paranoid, but I don't want to live in this kind of society.
TK
www.mint.ca/store/mint/learn/eliminating-the-penny-6900002#.URB5LBySYzt
Apparently they are encouraging rounding off the totals for people who pay cash. Electronic payments are not affected, which already means an unfair distinction in payment. Depending on what change is due, the total may either be rounded up favoring the vendor, or rounded down favoring the consumer. She says, "If a guy gives me a $10 for his $9.98 purchase, he gets no change, losing two cents. Giving $10 for a $9.97 purchase gets you a nickle back, two extra cents."
Here's my response:
Which means I'm getting robbed of two cents if I'm not carrying exact change. And two cents may not seem like a big deal, but when you consider every purchase you make, those two cents add up quickly. Or vice versa, if more people end up getting back nickels than a couple cents. Will this net a gain or a loss for the store? It's not going to all come out in the wash.
I can see making it a policy to only give change if people ask for it, or to ask first. I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who would refuse it because they don't care. But others of us want it. And this "it's only a few cents" thinking is EXACTLY the sort of thing that causes great damage to societies; when the public is led to believe it's fine to ignore something because it appears insignificant. I object not because I care about the penny (though I do) but because of the principle. It's government-sponsored theft. That's what it is. Either from the retailer or the customer.
What becomes of all those extra cents that end up in the till? In a single day, that's going to amount to real money. Over a week, a month, a year, those extra pennies that you aren't giving as change will add up significantly. Now the books will say that officially you have so much money based on what was charged, but stores will end up with an actual surplus based on this policy. And where does that money go?
It's like in the States there are these credit cards that give people "free money" every time they use it. And nobody questions where that money comes from??
Color me paranoid, but I don't want to live in this kind of society.
TK
