Quote Originally Posted by OakLeaf View Post
And tax returns were filed by people with pencils who had to do all their calculations either by hand, or on a machine that was separate from the ledger that kept the books.

Sales tax was calculated on the spot by cashiers who had to hand-separate taxable from non-taxable items.

Recordkeeping, as much as the sales transactions, is impossible when computers are down (or would take way too much time for people to stand in line). And the IRS doesn't much care for approximations and guesses.
I carry cash and I do my taxes with a pencil and calculator. I have two houses and a home business. It's not rocket science.

I don't shop at WF (when there was one near me it took nearly all of my cash, and now there's nary a WF to be found in these parts.) I think what they did was really the best thing though. They more than make up that difference in a very short time.