nothing like a sale

I have often wondered why our pricing system ends in pennies.....like $19.99. Who gives a hoot about that one penny when you are plunking down $20 ? The same exists no matter how much you are spending......... it could be a thousand dollars, but marked down to $999.99. It is the silliest way to buy and sell and I wonder why the American public is stuck with it.

The most remarkable event occurs when you buy gasoline. You may pay about $3.00 a gallon, but the pump computes the price right down to one-tenth of a cent........like $2.99.9. Who gives a hoot about one-tenth of a cent? Not many are quick enough to stop the pump at the right price...it always goes over...and the clerk keeps a ready supply of copper coins to balance the cash register. Our pricing system results in a pocketful of pennies that nobody wants. It is past time to remedy this silly situation.

This country has run the gauntlet on metals. First we had the gold standard, then silver, and now we are engaged in the copper standard. It seems to me that the use of copper in cash transactions should be eliminated. It costs more to produce a penny than it is worth. What a waste. Our pricing system would be more efficient if costs were pared down to the nearest nickel. We could get rid of pennies altogether and use copper for industrial purposes only.

I was in a store the other day checking out my groceries when the clerk ran out of pennies. It was a simple enough transaction except much time was wasted while the clerk rummaged through the register to find a new roll of pennies, break open the package and dump the copper relics in the penny tray. All this for a penny in change. What a waste of time.

Perhaps our lawmakers in Congress could break away from their deliberations long enough to tackle an irksome problem for its citizens. Let's get away from pennies.