Here is a discussion of math teaching in public schools through the years. I've had experiences similar to the one related in which the person at the counter could not figure out how much change I was supposed to get back. Most places now have cash registers that display the change due. One question I had. What airport was he in where a hamburger cost $1.58? The last time I was in an airport a candy bar cost more than that.

http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/fifty_years_of.html