I’ve noticed that the country I live is obsessed with numbers, but not in a good way.
My first example is commercials. In 57 years I’ve never seen anything advertised as other than$?.99. In other words it’s not $10.00 it’s $9.99. Every commercial price is $?.99. I asked why. I was told because 9.99 looks less expensive than 10.00. TO WHO??!! I see 9.99 iI figure I’m looking at around $11.00 after tax and all. I been this way since I was a kid. Still these commercial keep going so apparently, somewhere are a lot of people really wanting that penny.
The other reason Americans have number trouble, is in prison sentencing. It makes no sense. I just watched a show about a man who killed 5 people. For 3 of the murders he received 5 life sentences and 237 years. Now hold the phone. I can see 2 life sentences, it makes sure they never get out, that I get. But really what we going to do stop the hearse and say Hell NO! Dead or not he still got 687 more years. I mean really. If you’re going past 1 or 2 life sentences, quit fu^king around with arbitrary numbers nd just give them infinity life. (I mean IMHO same thing.)
It’s not a uniquely American thing, and it’s not really about being precise. It’s about acknowledging the victims and the number of crimes committed. It’s also a show of public outrage, something that’s not unique to the US.
I find this very strange, In this country it is actually illegal to quote a price without including all taxes and charges.
I notice overseas airlines do this too they quote a price but it doesn’t include Airport taxs/charges, again, that sort of drip pricing is illegal here. We do have the $?.99 thing though as if it fools anybody.
As for prison sentencing all I can say is that life imprisonment in NSW means that you will die in gaol.
This I do realize. They want the families to feel that their loved one received justice along with the others.
What really gets me is the part no one talks to much about. My taxes are paying for their CARE during those sentences. That irks me to no end.
In this country nothing is ever priced exactly with what you actually pay.
Put it this way. I don’t know how this works abroad, but here when you receive a paycheck on it you have already paid taxes federal, state, and local. Go to buy something and there is a sales tax or 2. (sales tax state and local). Then at the end of the year you pay income tax (for your annual income.) Even now they are looking at ways to charge sales tax on things you buy on the internet out of state. their argument being you’re taking commerce away from the state.
Ours is still a bit of a mixture of Federal and State taxes. Income tax is Federal and while the states have the right to charge income tax they don’t but they do have a pay roll tax which the employer pays. The States also used to have sales tax but gave that up in favour of the GST - 10% charged on every good and service - a tax collected by the federal government, given back to the states but not necessarily the state that collected it. The states still charge stamp duty which is a whole different issue.
I have to say that I much prefer that the price listed is the price you pay. Here for example because of this legislation cruise liners can’t add a gratuity to the price of a cruise and anyway Australians don’t really tip anyone because everybody gets a proper legislated wage.
My first day in Australia I took a taxi to my accommodation, I offered the taxi driver a tip (as one would in England unless you want the taxi to drive over your feet), he refused it saying, “We don’t tip here, mate” and drove off. I knew I was going to like it here.
There is nothing stopping you tipping if the service is exceptional and people do but it is not normal. sometimes they have a tip jar on the counter where people throw their unwanted change (who wants to carry coins?)
Tipping here is almost an insult! Like “Here peasant by some food”.
Also how do you tax income if there is no record?
Back in the 1960’s I worked in a hotel in Torquay that had a 10% add on to the bill to cover tips. I was night porter and things were pretty quiet during the night so I worked out what the hotel was making as it was full but when the staff added up their payout it was less than half. The manager was screwing the rest!
I know exactly what Ciderman is saying and basically that is the attitude here too. Why not just say, “Cheers mate for the excellent service you gave me .” and leave it at that? That is actually what happens here - my middle son is constantly seeking out the wait staff to thank them if they are very good - really annoys me.
I think the attitude here is that tipping is very much a master/servant transaction which doesn’t really have a place in an egalitarian society, if you pay proper wages you don’t need to beg for a pittance.
They say thanks to excess in the US. People get annoyed if you don’t tip as they see it as part of their wage. Even if they give bad service. The move towards cards now puts the onus on you to add a tip to a card payment which totally moves away from the personal nature of the gesture. Even back in the late 80s New York a waitress in the Italian sector had a go at us for not tipping her extremely poor service on a credit card. She was borderline abusive. (which is why we didn’t want to tip) but then perhaps that is considered part of the service in NY.
£9.99 is a common price in the UK too. It’s a psychological hook but then we do have tax included in that price. I don’t think it’s just the US that lists charges without tax. Aren’t there some European countries too? France? It’s really annoying but I think they have to quote both prices in the EU on shopping aisles.
In the UK we have KG and Lbs in food shops and Metres and feet in DIY shops. Sales people used to try to confuse customers by quoting feet or inches instead of cm metres to make it look as though they were getting more for their money. You still get this in some places online. Have to do a double take and check your facts.
It’s all a hustle at the end of the day and not confined to the US.
Cheques are treated like cash here, you see them all the time in use, Supermarkets to the Hospitals. You don’t have a cheque card to prove your I.D. either.
We don’t have buses in Rural France but the children do have a school bus and a bus shelter if they are lucky.
Bonjour though is said to each other all the time. That is because people here really do want to be acknowledged. The Saturday Shop is a meeting place and trolleys as well as the people are like hurdles everywhere.
and trolleys as well as the people are like hurdles everywhere.