Nonetheless, I've yet to be convinced of the necessity of meeting that standard, basic or not. If one is to look at the UK education system, which doesn't seem to produce measurably worse employment or lives for its participants than the US, then one will note that the maths being taught in the papers given by the person I was responding to in the US is not dissimilar to the lower stream maths GCSE - taken at around 16 - in which a C is a quite acceptable grade for most purposes. Even then, there are things there that would not show up in a GCSE paper - a kid wouldn't need to know scientific notation to pass that test with a C.
As for payday loans etc. The obvious answer is 'don't accept deals you don't understand' it's possible to sting people on a great number of things, based on your advantage in some area that they do not understand. If it's not maths it will be penalty fees hidden in the legalize. By the time you're up to needing scientific notation and square roots to understand your loan, it's a deal that someone ought not to have taken in the first place.
It does not seem unfair to me to ask: You describe it as basic, and threaten all these consequences if it's not taught... there are places where that level of performance is not expected, and these consequences do not seem any more in evidence. So, why should I buy into the idea that this knowledge is needed?
>The taxi-driver is probably better off not having taken a mathematics course (under the current curriculum) at school, if that subject did not appeal to him, and not thinking of learning the subject as an act of suffering, or operating under the impression that he cannot learn it based on failing a number of tests on the subject some time ago.
This is not maths fault or the curriculum. It is the fault of a very poor teacher who can probably never be fired. Even then, doing things that you don't want to do, but they are good for you is part of growing up and becoming an adult. Is your opinion really that we should keep churning out young adults who have no concept of the basics. I have a few more title/payday loan shops I need to go open up.