Eliminate penny or no?

[danscope]

Many people just throw them on the ground. Banks won't take large volumes of them and they charge you a service charge when they take small amounts. Is it time to get rid of the penny/cent in Canada and the USA, etc..?, (and I assume that other countries have similar small denominations.)

Simple: Get rid of the penny, and MAKE the sales tax 5% and LEAVE IT THERE.
Done. If you want to buy something, Buy five cents worth. Just make government live with the 5 cent tax. Done.

[SeanF]

Simple: Get rid of the penny, and MAKE the sales tax 5% and LEAVE IT THERE.
Done. If you want to buy something, Buy five cents worth. Just make government live with the 5 cent tax. Done.

When the cost of the product is $12.99, setting the sales tax at 5% rather than 6% doesn't make any difference (in terms of pennies needed). Are you going to set price controls, as well?

And your sales tax is partially set by the State and partially by the City (and in some places, partially by the County). How do you get them to agree on how to split up that 5%?

Also, what do you do about things like gasoline, where people don't buy integer-divisible amounts anyway?

[sarongsong]

Simple: Get rid of the penny, and MAKE the sales tax 5% and LEAVE IT THERE...

Tennessee [at 9.4%] might have a problem with that, among others.

[Doodler]

Maryland is at 5% now, but I keep hearing the occassional rumblings of going to 7%.


Personally, I'd say keep the penny. Not like it bothers me, I do 99% of my business on checkcard plastic.

[LazyCat]

Been hearing this for DECADES. Like a bad penny, this subject keeps returning. I suppose everything could get rounded to the next 5 cents. So 1, 2 would get rounded down to 0; and 3, 4 get rounded up to 5. Just like on my tax returns where amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar.

[sarongsong]

Surprised to see Nevada at 7.5%---thought their gaming interest taxes eliminated the state tax.

[danscope]

When the cost of the product is $12.99, setting the sales tax at 5% rather than 6% doesn't make any difference (in terms of pennies needed). Are you going to set price controls, as well?

And your sales tax is partially set by the State and partially by the City (and in some places, partially by the County). How do you get them to agree on how to split up that 5%?

Also, what do you do about things like gasoline, where people don't buy integer-divisible amounts anyway?

Hi Sean, I appreciate your position, however, the price of gasoline is metered
and priced at the pump and is mechanicaly taken care of. The next 5 cents worth , less than a 1/4 of a cup. We can deal with this.
The state,county and municipal treasuries are dealing with millions, and not spliting your pennies.
And the only price control is whether to cost things at the next nickel.
We can best use our copper for solar heating,electronics,wire, etc, where it shall do the most good, and not strain the backs of some deluded poor soul who thinks he can lift that huge jar of pennies . We shall save in many ways, apparent and hidden. And we shall all get through the check-out a little faster,now and always,without some poor old soul who shall fidget in his or her pockets trying to find that penny" Dear,I'm sure I had one here somewhere...".
I should think this can be done.
Best regards, Dan

[SeanF]

Hi Sean, I appreciate your position, however, the price of gasoline is metered
and priced at the pump and is mechanicaly taken care of. The next 5 cents worth , less than a 1/4 of a cup. We can deal with this.

So, you basically have the pumps configured to only dispense gasoline in $0.05 increments. That's still a heck of a requirement to impose on private businesses.

The state,county and municipal treasuries are dealing with millions, and not spliting your pennies.

You're missing my point. Let's say that there's a 5% sales tax, of which 3% goes to the state and 2% to the city (that's not too far off from the breakdown I actually pay right now).

Now, let's say the city has some new project (say, convention center improvement) and they want to tack on an additional sales tax to pay for it. Right now, they can do that. Under your proposal, they can't: the total tax is fixed at 5%, and the only way the city could get more is if they made the state take less - which the state's obviously not going to willingly accept.

It's simply not going to work.

Just a note: I'm not saying that fractional sales tax is necessarily an impediment to getting rid of the penny. But the idea that sales tax can be arbitrarily (and nation-wide!) set to a multiple of 5% isn't going to work, no matter what the reason is for doing it.

EDIT: In fact, I'll put forth that sales tax is not an impediment to getting rid of the penny at all. Right now, I pay a sales tax of 5.92%. And if a one-hundredth of a percent tax is workable when the penny is the smallest coin, there certainly isn't going to be any problem with the nickel as the smallest coin.

[danscope]

So, you basically have the pumps configured to only dispense gasoline in $0.05 increments. That's still a heck of a requirement to impose on private businesses.


You're missing my point. Let's say that there's a 5% sales tax, of which 3% goes to the state and 2% to the city (that's not too far off from the breakdown I actually pay right now).

Now, let's say the city has some new project (say, convention center improvement) and they want to tack on an additional sales tax to pay for it. Right now, they can do that. Under your proposal, they can't: the total tax is fixed at 5%, and the only way the city could get more is if they made the state take less - which the state's obviously not going to willingly accept.

It's simply not going to work.

Just a note: I'm not saying that fractional sales tax is necessarily an impediment to getting rid of the penny. But the idea that sales tax can be arbitrarily (and nation-wide!) set to a multiple of 5% isn't going to work, no matter what the reason is for doing it.

EDIT: In fact, I'll put forth that sales tax is not an impediment to getting rid of the penny at all. Right now, I pay a sales tax of 5.92%. And if a one-hundredth of a percent tax is workable when the penny is the smallest coin, there certainly isn't going to be any problem with the nickel as the smallest coin.

Yes...say they just "want to tack on....". I have a problem with municipalities that "Just want to max out their credit card all the time.
In Boston, Mayor Menino wants to sell off City Hall (Center of town location)
and "Build" a new one at....yes....the new facility for performing arts tent in South Boston,....water front property. I guess they haven't spent enough on the "Real Big Dig " lately.
I'm for the 5% tax . They can deal with the divy up after they collect.
Just my opinion.
It's not how much they spend, it's how "wisely" they spend.
Best regards, Dan

[mickal555]

works fine here....

[Gillianren]

Yes...say they just "want to tack on....". I have a problem with municipalities that "Just want to max out their credit card all the time.

Let me give you a better example, shall I?

Here in Washington, we pay variations on about 8%, depending on how much the county wants. About seven years ago, we passed an initiative setting license plate tabs at $35, whereas before, it had been based on the value of your vehicle. (I knew people whose tabs went up.) It was considered that we could do this because the state had about a billion-dollar surplus at the time. (I'm pretty sure we have a balanced budget amendment to the state constitution, but as you will see, this later failed to guarantee anything.)

So. Some people--those with new cars, primarily--saved literally hundreds to thousands of dollars. Everyone was excited, except those who understood the basic economic system. You see, that budget surplus had taken literally decades to build up, a little bit at a time. This meant that, at the time 695 passed, there was maybe a couple of million dollars extra a year. Now, while we had a balanced budget at the beginning of the fiscal year, the state had lost an enormous sum in the middle, and that surplus didn't last long, especially given the earthquake we had about two months after the initiative took effect, which damaged our capitol building and several major roads in the city, among other things.

So. Now the state was in debt. What's worse, people kept voting for these initiatives--he proposed several more that cut money to the state over the next few years--so the state kept losing money halfway through the fiscal year--once for cops, firefighters, etc.

And, naturally, the first one took its money out of the transit system, so bus service throughout the state plummeted. (The one of his that I know failed wanted to take even more money away from transit, and would set 90% of the state's transportation for building new roads. No one could figure out why this was supposed to be a good thing.) A county I used to live in now has the worst transit in the state--and before, it wasn't exactly great. No bus service on Sunday.

Now. Here in Thurston County, we chose to increase our sales tax because we really like our buses. Which is why we have some of the highest sales tax in the state, but I can get home after 8 PM most nights.

[lti]

We got rid of out 1c and 2c coins many years ago. We just recently got rid of our 5c coins.

The world hasnt ended.

EFTPOS is used for almost all transactions here anyway so coins really dont matter. If you do use coins the price is just rounded to the nearest 10c

[Ozzy]

I love $1 and $2 dollar coins. When you are broke you round up your change, and hey presto, its easy to collect $20.

Thats the main problem with 1c and 2c pieces, they are worth so little... a jar full to buy a can of coke! Now my loose change is worth something.

Now my pockets are much lighter and last longer.

The $1 and $2 coins are different sizes and thicknesses. Very easy to distinguish. The $1 coin is similar in size to a ten cent piece but has a smooth edge, where the 10c has a ribbed edge. This is for the benefit of the sight impaired.

The rounding up and down is not a problem. The cash registers do all the thinking for you.

[danscope]

Let me give you a better example, shall I?

Here in Washington, we pay variations on about 8%, depending on how much the county wants. About seven years ago, we passed an initiative setting license plate tabs at $35, whereas before, it had been based on the value of your vehicle. (I knew people whose tabs went up.) It was considered that we could do this because the state had about a billion-dollar surplus at the time. (I'm pretty sure we have a balanced budget amendment to the state constitution, but as you will see, this later failed to guarantee anything.)

So. Some people--those with new cars, primarily--saved literally hundreds to thousands of dollars. Everyone was excited, except those who understood the basic economic system. You see, that budget surplus had taken literally decades to build up, a little bit at a time. This meant that, at the time 695 passed, there was maybe a couple of million dollars extra a year. Now, while we had a balanced budget at the beginning of the fiscal year, the state had lost an enormous sum in the middle, and that surplus didn't last long, especially given the earthquake we had about two months after the initiative took effect, which damaged our capitol building and several major roads in the city, among other things.

So. Now the state was in debt. What's worse, people kept voting for these initiatives--he proposed several more that cut money to the state over the next few years--so the state kept losing money halfway through the fiscal year--once for cops, firefighters, etc.

And, naturally, the first one took its money out of the transit system, so bus service throughout the state plummeted. (The one of his that I know failed wanted to take even more money away from transit, and would set 90% of the state's transportation for building new roads. No one could figure out why this was supposed to be a good thing.) A county I used to live in now has the worst transit in the state--and before, it wasn't exactly great. No bus service on Sunday.

Now. Here in Thurston County, we chose to increase our sales tax because we really like our buses. Which is why we have some of the highest sales tax in the state, but I can get home after 8 PM most nights.

Hi, You make some excellent points. Question: can a bus sytem be supported by the ridership with the fares they should be paying? Does pay for what you get make any sense at all? Bear in mind, I'm sort of a moderate.
And with the roads, here in Rhode Island, we are a crazy quilt with secondary roads, a legacy from colonial days, and with the advent of winter, we pay to throw expensive sand and SALT on them, to save our necks, rot our cars, and
damage our roads, so...we pay more for our gasoline taxes. I just paid $2.42
for 87 octane. Some day, that will be cheap ,I suppose.
The registration tax is a question matk for all states, but you can't have a situation that so penalizes anyone with a brand new car...that you have a state with nothing but $300 junkers..( I have seen this, and it's not good.) Frankly, I think $100 registration is closer to what we need to do the job.
I can gaurantee one thing: Most Government institutions will spend everything they can, and those who don't will be punished....severely.
Stll, I can envision a system without the penny. If a situation genuinely warrants it, and gets proper scrutiny, it should be funded. But that is a whole different world of debate, but it does touch on the realities of the penny.
There are ,of course, solutions. Just like medicine. Some taste better than others;some are more effective than others. Some work in a few days, and some, like the *^&*^&%^&turnpike toll booths , are PERMANENT!!!!! They beget more and more people collecting tolls, and serve to pay more into pensions than maintanance of the turnpike. It becomes an embedded monster.
Another subject beyond the scope of "the Penny".
It is certainly an interesting discussion. I hope your weather improves and
your lights stay on. Best regards, Dan

[Gillianren]

Hi, You make some excellent points. Question: can a bus sytem be supported by the ridership with the fares they should be paying? Does pay for what you get make any sense at all? Bear in mind, I'm sort of a moderate.

No, it doesn't pay for itself, and in most locations, it's almost impossible to. However, have a working bus system is pretty much mandatory, as they found out down in LA when the transit people went on strike. Even the rich people were affected--because maids, cashiers, and restaurant bus boys couldn't get to work.

It is certainly an interesting discussion. I hope your weather improves and
your lights stay on. Best regards, Dan

Our lights should stay on at this point; the storm's mostly moved inland. My best friend, however, recently moved out to a house outside town. She lost power and therefore water--their water's from a well, and the pump's electric.

[danscope]

Let me give you a better example, shall I?

Here in Washington, we pay variations on about 8%, depending on how much the county wants. About seven years ago, we passed an initiative setting license plate tabs at $35, whereas before, it had been based on the value of your vehicle. (I knew people whose tabs went up.) It was considered that we could do this because the state had about a billion-dollar surplus at the time. (I'm pretty sure we have a balanced budget amendment to the state constitution, but as you will see, this later failed to guarantee anything.)

So. Some people--those with new cars, primarily--saved literally hundreds to thousands of dollars. Everyone was excited, except those who understood the basic economic system. You see, that budget surplus had taken literally decades to build up, a little bit at a time. This meant that, at the time 695 passed, there was maybe a couple of million dollars extra a year. Now, while we had a balanced budget at the beginning of the fiscal year, the state had lost an enormous sum in the middle, and that surplus didn't last long, especially given the earthquake we had about two months after the initiative took effect, which damaged our capitol building and several major roads in the city, among other things.

So. Now the state was in debt. What's worse, people kept voting for these initiatives--he proposed several more that cut money to the state over the next few years--so the state kept losing money halfway through the fiscal year--once for cops, firefighters, etc.

And, naturally, the first one took its money out of the transit system, so bus service throughout the state plummeted. (The one of his that I know failed wanted to take even more money away from transit, and would set 90% of the state's transportation for building new roads. No one could figure out why this was supposed to be a good thing.) A county I used to live in now has the worst transit in the state--and before, it wasn't exactly great. No bus service on Sunday.

Now. Here in Thurston County, we chose to increase our sales tax because we really like our buses. Which is why we have some of the highest sales tax in the state, but I can get home after 8 PM most nights.

Hi, You make some excellent points. Question: can a bus sytem be supported by the ridership with the fares they should be paying? Does pay for what you get make any sense at all? Bear in mind, I'm sort of a moderate.
And with the roads, here in Rhode Island, we are a crazy quilt with secondary roads, a legacy from colonial days, and with the advent of winter, we pay to throw expensive sand and SALT on them, to save our necks, rot our cars, and
damage our roads, so...we pay more for our gasoline taxes. I just paid $2.42
for 87 octane. Some day, that will be cheap ,I suppose.
The registration tax is a question matk for all states, but you can't have a situation that so penalizes anyone with a brand new car...that you have a state with nothing but $300 $h9878t boxes...( I have seen this, and it's not good.) Frankly, I think $100 registration is closer to what we need to do the job.
I can gaurantee one thing: Most Government institutions will spend everything they can, and those who don't will be punished....severely.
Stll, I can envision a system without the penny. If a situation genuinely warrants it, and gets proper scrutiny, it should be funded. But that is a whole different world of debate, but it does touch on the realities of the penny.
There are ,of course, solutions. Just like medicine. Some taste better than others;some are more effective than others. Some work in a few days, and some, like the *^&*^&%^&turnpike toll booths , are PERMANENT!!!!! They beget more and more people collecting tolls, and serve to pay more into pensions than maintanance of the turnpike. It becomes an embedded monster.
Another subject beyond the scope of "the Penny".
It is certainly an interesting discussion. I hope your weather improves and
your lights stay on. Best regards, Dan

[danscope]

Let me give you a better example, shall I?

Here in Washington, we pay variations on about 8%, depending on how much the county wants. About seven years ago, we passed an initiative setting license plate tabs at $35, whereas before, it had been based on the value of your vehicle. (I knew people whose tabs went up.) It was considered that we could do this because the state had about a billion-dollar surplus at the time. (I'm pretty sure we have a balanced budget amendment to the state constitution, but as you will see, this later failed to guarantee anything.)

So. Some people--those with new cars, primarily--saved literally hundreds to thousands of dollars. Everyone was excited, except those who understood the basic economic system. You see, that budget surplus had taken literally decades to build up, a little bit at a time. This meant that, at the time 695 passed, there was maybe a couple of million dollars extra a year. Now, while we had a balanced budget at the beginning of the fiscal year, the state had lost an enormous sum in the middle, and that surplus didn't last long, especially given the earthquake we had about two months after the initiative took effect, which damaged our capitol building and several major roads in the city, among other things.

So. Now the state was in debt. What's worse, people kept voting for these initiatives--he proposed several more that cut money to the state over the next few years--so the state kept losing money halfway through the fiscal year--once for cops, firefighters, etc.

And, naturally, the first one took its money out of the transit system, so bus service throughout the state plummeted. (The one of his that I know failed wanted to take even more money away from transit, and would set 90% of the state's transportation for building new roads. No one could figure out why this was supposed to be a good thing.) A county I used to live in now has the worst transit in the state--and before, it wasn't exactly great. No bus service on Sunday.

Now. Here in Thurston County, we chose to increase our sales tax because we really like our buses. Which is why we have some of the highest sales tax in the state, but I can get home after 8 PM most nights.

Hi, You make some excellent points. Question: can a bus sytem be supported by the ridership with the fares they should be paying? Does pay for what you get make any sense at all? Bear in mind, I'm sort of a moderate.
And with the roads, here in Rhode Island, we are a crazy quilt with secondary roads, a legacy from colonial days, and with the advent of winter, we pay to throw expensive sand and SALT on them, to save our necks, rot our cars, and
damage our roads, so...we pay more for our gasoline taxes. I just paid $2.42
for 87 octane. Some day, that will be cheap ,I suppose.
The registration tax is a question matk for all states, but you can't have a situation that so penalizes anyone with a brand new car...that you have a state with nothing but $300 junkers...( I have seen this, and it's not good.) Frankly, I think $100 registration is closer to what we need to do the job.
I can gaurantee one thing: Most Government institutions will spend everything they can, and those who don't will be punished....severely.
Stll, I can envision a system without the penny. If a situation genuinely warrants it, and gets proper scrutiny, it should be funded. But that is a whole different world of debate, but it does touch on the realities of the penny.
There are ,of course, solutions. Just like medicine. Some taste better than others;some are more effective than others. Some work in a few days, and some, like the *^&*^&%^&turnpike toll booths , are PERMANENT!!!!! They beget more and more people collecting tolls, and serve to pay more into pensions than maintanance of the turnpike. It becomes an embedded monster.
Another subject beyond the scope of "the Penny".
It is certainly an interesting discussion. I hope your weather improves and
your lights stay on. Best regards, Dan

[Dr Nigel]

But the cards get more convenient as you go. For example, at my university, you can connect your checking account to your ID, and then when you go up to vending machines, you can use your card, and it costs less than it would with cash. You also get a discount for using your card at the parking garages, and you don't have to pay sales tax on food from the cafeteria if you use PLUS dollars attached to your card. Very convenient.

Hmmm ... so do you think those cost advantages would remain in place if cash were abolished?

[Dr Nigel]

I can tell you from experience your systems will not be affected by losing such a denomination. However, there will be little to no benefit anyway. Now, instead of people not accepting 1s and 2s because they are rubbish money - people turn down the 5c piece for the same reason.

But that's crazy!! In the UK, if a retailer refuses to accept legal tender in exchange for goods or services, the debt is cancelled. Of course, there is a bit of common sense required (e.g. they won't let you get away with trying to buy a car using only a wheelbarrow-load of small change). I don't know exactly how it is defined, but as long as you tender no more than a handful of small change, the retailer is obliged to either accept it or cancel the debt.

Bus companies here tried, for a while, to insist that passengers had the correct change to pay for their ticket, but it didn't last long. If I understand correctly, under UK law, it is the party charging the fee that must be able to make change, never the other way around.

[Dr Nigel]

That would result in forcing the closure of hundreds to thousands of Dollar Stores and similar. How can kids get money for band or scouts if we remove the legal tender we could give them? The saying "I'll buy that for a dollar" will lose it's very real meaning.

Getting rid of the dollar bill would not mean getting rid of the dollar. Just replace it with a coin. They are far more long-lived. Here in the UK, the pound note was replaced by coins about 20 years ago, except in Scotland, where the banks still print pound notes.

This gave rise to an interesting siuation. English £1 and £2 coins are legal tender in Scotland (as are the larger denominations, for which notes are still used), and Scottish notes of £5 and upward are legal tender in England, but an English retailer is entitled to reject a Scottish £1 note, because this is not legal tender in England (it is legal tender only in Scotland).

[Ronald Brak]

I believe Freddo means people don't want to waste time dealing with 5 cent coins. They are legal tender, up to a certain amount.

[Dr Nigel]

How much does it cost the government to mint a penny?

That question may not be significant though, since a penny gets spent multiple times. Still seems like an economic drain, though.

Probably not such a great drain. Here in the UK, coins tend to circulate for up to about 50 years before they are withdrawn (except when they, for instance, change the physical size of a coin - in such cases, after a year of transition, the old style stops being legal tender).

When the currency was decimalized, the old shilling became equivalent to 5 new pence, and the 5p coin was made the same size as the old shilling coin. Similarly the 10p coin and the 2s coin (or Florin, as it was known). Thus, even though I never woked with the "LSD" system (pounds, shillings and pence), I frequently used to get 1s and 2s coins (representing 5p and 10p respectively). More recently, of course, they down-sized the 5p and 10p coins and withdrew the larger ones from circulation.

[Dr Nigel]

.... The trouble people predict with getting rid of pennies now, such as price inflation from lack of rounding and trouble calculating taxes and such, didn't happen then and wouldn't happen now, just like it didn't happen in European countries when switching from local native currencies to Euros or in Britain centuries before that when switch from a halves-of-halves fractioning to a decimal fractioning.

Eh? British coinage switched to decimal in about 1970, which is not "centuries" ago. And we still had farthings (one-quarter of a penny) up until some time in the '50s or '60s, I think.

[Dr Nigel]

... the price of gasoline is metered
and priced at the pump and is mechanicaly taken care of. The next 5 cents worth , less than a 1/4 of a cup. We can deal with this.

There is, however, a principle, that being that you should get what you pay for, and should not pay extra just to make the sums easier.

... We can best use our copper for solar heating,electronics,wire, etc, where it shall do the most good...

I don't believe that the amount of copper circulating in the world's small change will significantly affect the amount of copper available for wiring and so on. This simply does not seem relevant.

We shall save in many ways, apparent and hidden.

Well, don't keep us guessing, tell us!

And we shall all get through the check-out a little faster,now and always,without some poor old soul who shall fidget in his or her pockets trying to find that penny" Dear,I'm sure I had one here somewhere...".

What, and you think this will change if you get rid of the 1-cent coin? It'll simply become "I'm sure I have a nickel in here somewhere..."

[Dr Nigel]

...we pay more for our gasoline taxes. I just paid $2.42
for 87 octane. Some day, that will be cheap ,I suppose.

Some day? Today! I'm assuming that's for a gallon. In the UK, we get charged anywhere from 85 to 105 pence per litre (which is, very roughly, about $8 per gallon), of which the vast majority is tax.

Then again, you really ought to complain about the gnat's pee you get sold as "gasoline". In the UK, you can get "Premium", which is 95 octane, or "Super / Ultimate / whatever" which is 97 octane. The latter is about 15 - 20 pence per litre more expensive than the former, but gives about 10% better fuel economy (unless you waste it all having fun).

[Delvo]

Dollar and half-dollar coins have come and gone in the USA. Apparently, people don't like them much because they're bulkier and heavier than the paper dollar, so they've fallen out of use and been discontinued more than once.

I think they'll be necessary before long, though, because of inflation's effects on the quarter, dime, and nickel, and the machines that use them. For example, the laundromats around here recently went from taking 6 quarters at a time to taking 8 at a time, which is all that the coin tray's width can fit, so they can't increase again without serious changes... and vending machines that once hardly had anything priced over $0.50 now require over a dollar for most items but you still can't pay them with any coin bigger than a quarter... and half of the parking meters already don't take nickels or dimes anymore and will only give 10 or 15 minutes per quarter, so it usually takes quite a pile of them to get a practical amount of time...

[Doodler]

Kennedy half dollars are still floating about, and lets be real about why the dollar coins repeatedly fail.

The US Treasury is run by idiots.

The Susan B Anthony. Nice idea, but then some knucklehead authorized a size virtually identical to the quarter.

The Sacajuea dollar. Nice idea, but then they only put it out in limited circulation, which means the knucklehead coin collectors are now hording them in the hopes they'll be worth something someday.

The higher value coin has failed because the higher brain functions of the people who execute them have failed, not because I've heard anyone complaining about the idea behind it.

[PhantomWolf]

I've probably said it before, but if you let them, it won't end there. Our Treasury removed the 1 and 2c coins, now they have removed the 5c and our smallest coin is 10c. Give them another 10 years and the 10c is probably an endangered species too.

[SolusLupus]

I'd say yes, get rid of the penny. It costs too many resources to make pennies to supply the entire U.S., and it's practically worthless. It takes 100 just to equal a dollar, and even the least important of things are just a little bit below a dollar.

[danscope]

Some day? Today! I'm assuming that's for a gallon. In the UK, we get charged anywhere from 85 to 105 pence per litre (which is, very roughly, about $8 per gallon), of which the vast majority is tax.

Then again, you really ought to complain about the gnat's pee you get sold as "gasoline". In the UK, you can get "Premium", which is 95 octane, or "Super / Ultimate / whatever" which is 97 octane. The latter is about 15 - 20 pence per litre more expensive than the former, but gives about 10% better fuel economy (unless you waste it all having fun).

Hi, I often tell people about the dreadful prices paid for petrol in the UK. They scratch their foggy old heads and say ..."Really?".
You make an excellent point about the "gnat's P" our motors have to get along with. Detonation is a terrible thing, if one looks into an engine bore.
By the way.....currently restoring an Austin-Healy Mk1 "Bug-Eyed" Sprite,
which generates a mighty 45 HP. Had one back in my old High School days..'65.
Paid .23 cents/gallon for petrol back then. Surely went further with the Sprite!!

Best regards, Dan Bessette