“What’s that funny looking thing that that man’s riding, Grandpa?”
“That’s a penny-farthing bicycle, Young Pat. See the size of the wheels, one big and one small, just like the size of the coins that used to be used.”
Back in those days of pennies and farthings, millionaires were rare. Those who had a million pounds were very wealthy indeed.
Although the farthing went out of circulation in about the late 1920’s, the ha’penny (half penny) stayed in use until the hand-over to decimal currency in Australia in 1966. At that time, most of the currency denominations, which had been in use throughout Australia’s white settlement, were re-incarnated in decimal coins of equal value and usage. The penny virtually handed over its baton to the cent, which was only marginally higher valued at 1.2 pence. Otherwise, values were handed over in direct equivalence. The cent coin was joined by its big brother, the two-cent coin, and both enjoyed everyday usage. Things such as lollies, could be purchased using just one of these coins at a time for transactions.
Things went relatively smoothly in 1966 and the official hand-over period that followed. With a few feats of mental arithmetic, people were able to carry on as they had done since the demise of the farthing. However, instantaneously, on 14 February 1966, Australia gained a massive group of new millionaires.
At that time, many ordinary suburban houses in metropolises such as Sydney, were able to be purchased for prices between $8,000 and $20,000. Thus, for an average income of around $2,500 per annum, a working man was able to buy an ordinary home for a bit over three years’ earnings, or buy an exceptional quality home for about eight years’ earnings. Since then, though, in comparable locations, the cost of an ordinary home has escalated to about 12 years’ average earnings, and the cost of an exceptional home to about 20 years’ earnings.
For an ordinary family, nowadays, that has somehow managed to pay off a heavy mortgage and own their own home, have furniture in it, and perhaps have a car, they are, at least, approaching millionaire status. For families doing well in the earnings and real estate departments, a very high proportion will have reached or significantly exceeded the criterion for millionairehood.
If things keep going as they are (or even vaguely close to it) in five years’ time, we will have 75% of the Australian adult population being millionaires.
The poor one cent and two cent coins have long ago been made redundant, and the five cent coin is all but useless. The ten cent coin has virtually become the lowest ranked member of the coin brigade.
This example of dealing in large numbers in real estate, is just one among very many in the field of commerce, business, governmental spending, taxes, and the like. The fundamental point is that we are now required to deal in and to record and to do arithmetic in, huge, huge numbers. Moreover, this situation is going to get worse and worse as each five years goes by.
What cheeses me off, is that our Federal Government chooses to ignore this ridiculous situation. How long do we have to wait until we have federal parliamentarians who can view the nation that they represent with a wide gaze, and notice some of the housekeeping things that need to be done?
Blind Freddy, if the dear old Police Commissioner were not buried at Randwick, would be able to see that even by issuing “new dollars” where one “new dollar” equalled ten of our present dollars, would bring things back to sensibility for the time being, and allow us to once more think in terms of our lowest denomination of currency, not the good old cent, but the “good new cent”!
Then it would be, “Welcome back to earth, you ex-millionaires.”
Crankyfella
“That’s a penny-farthing bicycle, Young Pat. See the size of the wheels, one big and one small, just like the size of the coins that used to be used.”
Back in those days of pennies and farthings, millionaires were rare. Those who had a million pounds were very wealthy indeed.
Although the farthing went out of circulation in about the late 1920’s, the ha’penny (half penny) stayed in use until the hand-over to decimal currency in Australia in 1966. At that time, most of the currency denominations, which had been in use throughout Australia’s white settlement, were re-incarnated in decimal coins of equal value and usage. The penny virtually handed over its baton to the cent, which was only marginally higher valued at 1.2 pence. Otherwise, values were handed over in direct equivalence. The cent coin was joined by its big brother, the two-cent coin, and both enjoyed everyday usage. Things such as lollies, could be purchased using just one of these coins at a time for transactions.
Things went relatively smoothly in 1966 and the official hand-over period that followed. With a few feats of mental arithmetic, people were able to carry on as they had done since the demise of the farthing. However, instantaneously, on 14 February 1966, Australia gained a massive group of new millionaires.
At that time, many ordinary suburban houses in metropolises such as Sydney, were able to be purchased for prices between $8,000 and $20,000. Thus, for an average income of around $2,500 per annum, a working man was able to buy an ordinary home for a bit over three years’ earnings, or buy an exceptional quality home for about eight years’ earnings. Since then, though, in comparable locations, the cost of an ordinary home has escalated to about 12 years’ average earnings, and the cost of an exceptional home to about 20 years’ earnings.
For an ordinary family, nowadays, that has somehow managed to pay off a heavy mortgage and own their own home, have furniture in it, and perhaps have a car, they are, at least, approaching millionaire status. For families doing well in the earnings and real estate departments, a very high proportion will have reached or significantly exceeded the criterion for millionairehood.
If things keep going as they are (or even vaguely close to it) in five years’ time, we will have 75% of the Australian adult population being millionaires.
The poor one cent and two cent coins have long ago been made redundant, and the five cent coin is all but useless. The ten cent coin has virtually become the lowest ranked member of the coin brigade.
This example of dealing in large numbers in real estate, is just one among very many in the field of commerce, business, governmental spending, taxes, and the like. The fundamental point is that we are now required to deal in and to record and to do arithmetic in, huge, huge numbers. Moreover, this situation is going to get worse and worse as each five years goes by.
What cheeses me off, is that our Federal Government chooses to ignore this ridiculous situation. How long do we have to wait until we have federal parliamentarians who can view the nation that they represent with a wide gaze, and notice some of the housekeeping things that need to be done?
Blind Freddy, if the dear old Police Commissioner were not buried at Randwick, would be able to see that even by issuing “new dollars” where one “new dollar” equalled ten of our present dollars, would bring things back to sensibility for the time being, and allow us to once more think in terms of our lowest denomination of currency, not the good old cent, but the “good new cent”!
Then it would be, “Welcome back to earth, you ex-millionaires.”
Crankyfella
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