8 ms·
As the article points out, there are laws that say people who pay via SNAP debit cards "cannot be charged more than others". If cash payments are rounded down,
by simpleguitar 10mo ago
As the article points out, there are laws that say people who pay via SNAP debit cards "cannot be charged more than others".
If cash payments are rounded down, but debit card payments aren't, they are in violation of state law.
The article also points out that rollback of pennies in Canada and other places were planned, addressing these kinds of issues. USA is doing it with no such planning.
- internetter 10mo agoCan you not argue that the average is the same and thus the law isn’t violated?
- immibis 10mo agoDoes the law say the average price must be the same, or does it say the price must be the same? Reality: the supermarket does it the common sense way, and never gets sued, but if they do get sued, the outcome is "you must now refund 2 cents from every SNAP transaction you ever did"
- hcknwscommenter 10mo agoVery unlikely that would happen. The way similar issues have been dealt with in the past is that settlement is negotiated to something "reasonable" (at least arguably so) and administrable. Probably the settlement amount would just go to a fund that the state would then distribute according to its priorities.
- maxerickson 10mo agoIt's probably the case that the real risk is being suspended from SNAP for failing to comply with their rules.
- dragonwriter 10mo agoNo, because the law applies to individual transactions, not averages.
- wat10000 10mo agoSo, round down debit cards too? This seems like a really easy problem to solve.
- emodendroket 10mo agoSNAP is a major source of revenue for grocers so it seems like you wouldn't have to prod them very hard to do that.
- meandthewallaby 10mo agoThey're all easily solvable problems. The issue, as GP mentioned, is that the pennies are just stopping without the thought through these problems and planning for the solutions. This was done via a social media post, not a well thought out transition like Canada had.
- thaumasiotes 10mo ago> The issue, as GP mentioned, is that the pennies are just stopping without the thought through these problems and planning for the solutions. That's not an "issue". That's the way things that actually happen, happen.
- wat10000 10mo agoIf they're easily solvable then why do you need planning? Changing the currency on a whim by executive fiat is stupid, but that's just principle. In practical terms, I really have a hard time caring about the problems this specific change creates.
- jakefromstatecs 10mo ago> If they're easily solvable then why do you need planning? Easily solvable problems still need coordination. Do you want to go to one store and have your change rounded up then go to another and have it rounded down?
- 10mo ago
- dyslexit 10mo agoThe article also points out that some states and a lot cities require retailers to provide exact change. Congress would need to pass legislation to allow rounding nationally. I'm guessing in the meantime they'll continue holding pennies from previous years?
- unethical_ban 10mo agoIf the national government literally stops creating a certain precision of money, i expect the "exact change" requirement should be invalid.
- thatguy0900 10mo agoYou volunteering your business to be the the test legal case for that? Or are you stocking pennies?
- bdangubic 10mo ago“change will be provided via Venmo” sign at the entrance :)
- deleted 10mo ago[deleted]
- anticensor 10mo agoPayers are allowed to complete transaction using a single method, you can't violate that right.
- patrickthebold 10mo agoIs gas sold as a whole penny amounts in those locations? Where I am it's always something and 9/10ths of a cent.
- ryandrake 10mo agoAllowing gas stations to denominate their prices by the 10th of a cent has always struck me as a just an underhanded and extreme way to practice the "9.99" retail psychological trick. Why not allow retailers to price things 9.99999? Ridiculous.
- hypeatei 10mo ago> there are laws that say Hmm, maybe this is why it should be handled by Congress and not at the whim of the executive. They can handle all this in one piece of legislation.
- close04 10mo agoIf the law is slow to change or there are no available pennies, the stores can adjust the prices to match the expected rounding of prices. I can't imagine someone being prosecuted from rounding a penny but it's a quick and easy way to avoid any doubt.
- hypeatei 10mo ago> I can't imagine someone being prosecuted from rounding a penny Under this executive, I wouldn't be so sure. If a grocery chain starts deviating from the law, then the government can use it against them to further a political agenda like we've seen with Eric Adams for example.
- jjcm 10mo ago> the stores can adjust the prices to match the expected rounding of prices Not necessarily. Anything measured by weight will still be subject to this issue.
- deleted 10mo ago[deleted]
- rtkwe 10mo agoMore annoying especially during the SNAP gap due to the shutdown the law forbids differential pricing in general so shops couldn't offer lower prices for EBT/SNAP customers as a way to help their neighbors.
- philistine 10mo agoI don't want to be glib, but hey what the hey. This is how you can see that the United States is in decline; it can no longer discontinue a coin through legislation.
- dmix 10mo agoCongress seems like the most dysfunctional branch of government going on a couple decades now. They poll worse than the most unpopular presidents
- hamandcheese 10mo ago> They poll worse than the most unpopular presidents I would expect this to be the case generally since congress is at all times 99.5% people who you have no say in electing/recalling.
- abustamam 10mo agoI happen to live in one of the few districts in CA that has a republican representative. I was looking forward to voting him out but then CA got gerrymandered and now we'll likely have a Democrat representative next term. I didn't like our republican representative but it seems kinda shitty that the folks who did like him and voted for him suddenly didn't get a say in who their representative ought to be. I mean, sure they probably voted No on 50 but most of the yes votes came from outside of our district. Edit: I strongly hate gerrymandering but I also acknowledge the need for the democrats to play dirty because the Republicans are, and "being the better person" doesn't seem to be a viable political strategy anymore.
- kasey_junk 10mo agoThe voters did get a say in California which at least had the process require a referendum. The other states that have done mid cycle gerrymandering just forced it on their population.
- Ferret7446 10mo agoGenerally in accounting, insignificant amounts are... insignificant (like how tax calculations are rounded to the dollar). Please don't strawman this, there is ample evidence for rounding pennies on everyday transactions.
- SkyPuncher 10mo agoCharges take into account severity of the crime and intent. Nobody is going to get criminal charges for rounding pennies on cash transactions.
- potato3732842 10mo agoSure, on paper. In reality bored fedcops trying to justify their budgets is how you get plenty of unjustifiable suffering. The secret service probably won't cause a Waco out of it, but I'm sure they'll do something dumb.
- DrewADesign 10mo agoOk— Walmart decides to do something the government doesn’t like re:tariffs or whatnot. They can either plead fealty and retract their decision or the C-Suite can defend themselves against conspiracy to commit a zillion misdemeanors an hour…
- conductr 10mo agoTons of laws go unenforced
- chipsrafferty 10mo agoOk so just round it down then
- BobbyTables2 10mo agoGet rid of SNAP. Problem solved. (/s)
- deleted 10mo ago[deleted]
- koliber 10mo agoAlways round up (or down) to the nearest nickel regardless of whether someone pays card, cash, or SNAP. In effect, this would set the gross price as a multiple of 5 cents.
- nickserv 10mo agoI fail to see the problem here. Just round the price for every type of transaction.