Peter Aitken > wrote in message
. com...
> Rod Speed > wrote
>> Rhonda Anderson > wrote
>>> Edwin Pawlowski > wrote
>>>> mslinda > wrote

>>>>> Yesterday I got stuck behind a pair of those morons who can only buy what
>>>>> they have cash in their pocket for, get too much and have to have items
>>>>> removed *one by one* until they get down to an amount they can pay for. If
>>>>> I knew I had only so much cash to spend, I'd be totalling my take before I
>>>>> got to the checkout but I guess that never ocurred to these dweebs.

>>>> It is an education issue. If they were smart enough to add it up in their
>>>> heads, they would probably be smart enough have a better job and could
>>>> afford to buy what they want.

>>> Well, I'd like to think I'm not too dumb! I can add up in my head, am
>>> tertiary educated and have a decent job. Doesn't mean I can afford to buy
>>> what I want (I wish!) <g>.I do, however, have the common sense to add it
>>> up as I go around if I want to make sure I stick to the budget, or if I
>>> have a certain amount of cash on me and don't want to pay in a different
>>> manner.I make it a habit to tally as I go, either using a calculator if I
>>> remembered to throw one in my bag, or using it as an exercise in mental
>>> arithmetic. That way I don't get a shock at the cash register - sometimes
>>> that total gets awfully big awfully quickly!

>>> Unfortunately, common sense isn't all that common! Behaviour that gets
>>> you labelled by others as a moron isn't limited to people who aren't
>>> "smart".

>>> One thing - it's easy enough here to add up as you go as the GST (Goods &
>>> Services Tax) is included in the marked price, so the price on the
>>> item/shelf is the price you pay at the register. I've wondered at times how
>>> easy it is to do when the sales tax is added at the register,

>> Trivial if you are numerate and the tax applys to all articles.

>>> which is what happens in the US isn't it?

>> Yes.

> Tax does not apply to all articles in all states.

Never said it did. I used the word 'if' for a reason.

> Here in North Carolina most grocery items are exempt from sales tax but other
> items you'd by at a grocery store, such as paper products, are not.

Yes, that is an example of a state where it isnt trivial to do.

> BTW it is silly to think that the ability to add things up in your head has
> anything to do with intelligence.

I didnt see anyone even mention intelligence in this subthread.

Smart aint the same thing as intelligence.