Editing Talk:2019: An Apple for a Dollar

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Is this a reference to how shops in America don't include VAT in price labels?
(It's my first time trying to contribute to this so sorry if I get some format stuff wrong)

:Yeah, Randall would love it in Europe! (you should sign your posts with <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> though) --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.51.22|172.68.51.22]] 15:53, 13 July 2018 (UTC)

:It is a commentary on overly complex taxes and fees on things that really shouldn't have fees applied (I can think of hardly anything that really should have a fee applied, or be taxed really, but that's a political-philosophical discussion for another space-time coordinate) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.239|172.69.70.239]] 16:18, 13 July 2018 (UTC) Sam

:We call it sales tax, and it doesn't have the chaining-effect on every stage of production that VAT does, but yeah. It's rarely calculated into the sticker price. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.246|162.158.106.246]] 16:27, 13 July 2018 (UTC)

Is food taxed where Randall lives?  It's not where I live and I was under the impression that it's not in most of the US.  It's not uncommon for me to go to a store after working out and buying a protein bar for exactly $1. <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> {{unsigned ip|162.158.63.22}}
:Use the sign button on the top or omit the ''nowiki'' tag when you sign your comment. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 16:44, 13 July 2018 (UTC)

:Living smack-dab in the center of the US and I can tell you that pretty much everything has a sales tax. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.239|172.69.70.239]] 16:18, 13 July 2018 (UTC) Sam
::Groceries, such as apples, should not be taxed, but I believe that processed foods are taxed. Actually, nevermind, this is state dependent: [https://blog.taxjar.com/states-grocery-items-tax-exempt/] [[Special:Contributions/172.68.46.137|172.68.46.137]] 16:27, 13 July 2018 (UTC)

:In my experience food is indeed taxed like everything else, but businesses will sometimes set the actual price of the item slightly below $1, such that the tax makes it cost exactly $1. The example that comes to mind is the soft-serve ice cream at IKEA. [[User:PotatoGod|PotatoGod]] ([[User talk:PotatoGod|talk]]) 16:31, 13 July 2018 (UTC)
::That has been my experience as well, although it varies by region. — AfroThundr <sup>([[User:AfroThundr3007730|u]] · [[User talk:AfroThundr3007730|t]] · [[Special:Contributions/AfroThundr3007730|c]])</sup> 16:37, 13 July 2018 (UTC)
::In Massachusetts we don't have a tax on food, but we have a tax on "meals" (prepared food sold in retaurants, cafes, and similar establishments). We used to have a local restaurant with an attached bakery; if you bought fewer than a half dozen bagels, it was considered part of a meal and taxed, but there was no tax if you bought at least a half dozen.
[[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 15:15, 18 July 2018 (UTC)
: In Germany we have two types of VAT. General rule of thumb 7% for food and print media and 19% for more or less everything else. It's a rule of thumb, because there are exemptions to the 7% stuff which suddenly are taxed 19%. But in either case it's included on the price tag. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 08:45, 16 July 2018 (UTC)

The closest thing this can relate to a for a European is buying dinners or hotel rooms if you come from a corrupt East or Southern European country where "tourists tax" is a real thing and added out of nowhere on top of the regular price, because the regular price only have to include regular taxes.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.202.58|162.158.202.58]] 16:39, 13 July 2018 (UTC)

I'm thinking on the analysis I tentatively added to the explanation above.  I assumed Megan was an engineer, but re-reading the comic ("Should I solve for something ??") I think it's more possible she no longer has to do math in her career, and is being portrayed as having a flashback to school again when she encounters a similar situation to her education.  The examples are common in math and physics in grade school.  It's hard for me to figure out in my head how to combine all the different interpretations, or which ones are likely wrong; it would be great if somebody could clean it up.  If not, it's just a tiny wiki on the internet.  [[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.160|172.68.54.160]] 18:25, 13 July 2018 (UTC)

Is this really a grocery store? I thought of it more as a coffee shop. Minimalist decor and whatnot. It's also one of those places where you would explain introductorily that you want just the apple. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.130|108.162.237.130]] 18:15, 14 July 2018 (UTC)

The exact fraction of an apple needed to spend exactly $1.00 is 0.46082949308. [[User:meunstercheese|MuensterCheese]] misspelled their username. [[User_talk:Meunstercheese|Chat \o]] 19:23, 14 July 2018 (UTC)

"it seems the cashier is unable to figure out how to handle it" for me it feels like the cashier gets the customers "needs" very fast and responds in a very clever and symbiotic way that benefits both parties.

One could also interpret this as an analogy of Randall's first experiences with cryptocurrencies (to avoid naming any specific one), which makes transactions as simple as possible without any tricks. The title text then suggests that it's possible in this scenario to send fractions of a unit in cryptocurrencies. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.142|108.162.241.142]] 20:09, 14 July 2018 (UTC)

"I'd like 0.4608 apples, please" - "Thank you, that will be $0.999936" [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.165|162.158.74.165]] 08:54, 16 July 2018 (UTC)
:This would be 0.460829495 to be exactly $1, but thats going to be onerous to chop accurately... and say. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.136|141.101.98.136]] 13:12, 16 July 2018 (UTC)Sedontane

Solution: Automatic applesauce dispenser. In the same way that you can find machines in grocery stores that will grind fresh peanut butter from peanuts in a hopper. [[User:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For]] ([[User talk:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|talk]]) 00:52, 22 July 2018 (UTC)

"(though they would still need to accept coins)" This part is not entirely correct in the USA.  There's no Federal law or statute that requires a private business to accept any kind of cash --whether bills or coins-- and explicitly leaves it up to the states or cities if they want to make any laws in this area.  There's only a few states (MA, NJ and soon, CT) and a few cities (Philadelphia and San Francisco) that have banned cashless businesses, mostly on the grounds that it supposedly discriminates against the poor who have a much higher percentage of their purchases done with cash.  At this point, a store outside of those restrictive states/cities could indeed legally refuse to accept any coins and only deal in whole-dollar increment purchases made with paper bills.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.202|108.162.237.202]] 23:07, 2 January 2020 (UTC)

== The real joke I think is over paying for an apple  ==

I'm pretty sure $1 is over priced for an apple... $2.17 criminally so

:Maybe it's big and heavy apple? ... but the issue might be more that apples are almost always sold by weight, and the weight multiplied by unit price is very unlikely to produce round number for price unless you are VERY lucky. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:00, 15 July 2018 (UTC)

:Depends on where she's buying them. If it's a grocery store, where apples are usually sold in bulk, then $1 per apple is high. If it's a mini mart (like 7/11) or a coffee shop/fast food place, where apples are sold individually as a side, then $1 per apple is pretty reasonable.

It depends on how far away you are from where the apples are grown, and the location you're in (rural versus urban) and what sort of establishment it is; "ready to eat" at a kiosk is going to be more than at a grocery store.  It also depends on the size and type of apple.  For common apples it's about $1.00 to $2.00 a pound in bulk, say Red Delicious at $1.40 a pound average price.  So it's easy to pay $2.17 for a larger more desirable apple type, especially at a retail non-grocery location in a big city. [[User:Jefe9247|Jefe9247]] ([[User talk:Jefe9247|talk]]) 15:30, 16 July 2018 (UTC)

:But at the end you're talking about per pound, not per apple.  Most apples don't weigh a pound -- though the record has been over 4 pounds for one apple -- instead most varieties are about 3 apples per pound. You can't compare apples to apple. [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 18:53, 16 July 2018 (UTC)

It is quite common to see apples sold at over $3/lb. At a non discount grocery store buying apples individually, not in bags, varieties that are less common and not in season locally, etc. Those can exceed $1 each. That's not even counting the price effects of organic produce. Your imported organic apple is going to cost a lot more than $1 each. 

[[Special:Contributions/172.68.58.11|172.68.58.11]] 22:26, 18 July 2018 (UTC)Chad

== Anecdote ==

I was raised in the UK, but have visited Canada on several occasions, where I'd find that sales tax (GST and PST) had to be added on to the advertised price. On one occasion, I was shopping at Bulk Barn, where most things are sold by weight, but I was only buying a few items of candy at a fixed price. I added the 15% tax in my head, and had the correct money ready as I went to the checkout. The cashier was thoroughly confused that I had the exact change in my hand before she'd told me what the total would be! [[User:Kazzie|Kazzie]] ([[User talk:Kazzie|talk]]) 09:00, 17 July 2018 (UTC)