4 ms·

I imagine you don't live in the city. More and more of the merchandise at Safeway is behind lock and key (shampoo, toothbrushes, etc), and incidents with securi

I imagine you don't live in the city. More and more of the merchandise at Safeway is behind lock and key (shampoo, toothbrushes, etc), and incidents with security detaining someone (who is often making a very loud scene) are not at all uncommon. Regardless, I don't agree with your theory. It might work for a while, but as soon as people see other people getting things for free, and the prices they pay go up to compensate, they tend to decide not to be the suckers anymore. I mean, look how quickly looting can start. Look at all the people willing to exploit loopholes in the system to cheat people out of money. Look at corruption in countries where it isn't effectively policed against. Look at how crime is celebrated in a significant amount of American culture (especially music). And especially, look at how hard it is to make a buck by offering your software or music or what-have-you as "donation ware." The reason people don't want to steal is that they have been in environments where, if they are dishonest, people eventually are onto them and don't trust them and otherwise "punish" them, even if just by social pressure and shaming and such. If they are in environments where this isn't the case, especially if they have been in such environments for a long time, they adapt to those environments. Do you really think a grocery store would stay in business long if there was absolutely no tangible downside to just walking out without paying?

BoorishBears 7y ago
I live in a city. You're describing a vast minority of stores in the US, I don't know who you're trying to fool... Sure you can go to a some neighborhoods and find stuff under lock and key and aggressive security, but the vast majorities of stores do not rely on that (in other words, the system as a whole does not rely on that, even if there are special cases for specific stores) You're waxing poetic about rioting and people driven to extreme enough poverty they feel the need to steal Tide to sell for drugs... yeah it turns out disenfranchised people in extreme situations will not respect societal norms, not some deep insight. We're talking about library books. You're straying into the most extreme ends of society to try and what exactly? Feel free to identify as someone who only doesn't steal books late fees, I assure you you'll be in the minority. >Look at how crime is celebrated in a significant amount of American culture (especially music). Also, what kind of non-sequitur is this?!
- lr4444lr 7y ago
  If you live in a city and have looked into the phenomenon of urban "food deserts", you'd know that it is affected in significant part by the low per store margin of a grocery store being eaten by security and shoplifting costs. The OP may be somewhat hyperbolic, but he's not all wrong.
  - BoorishBears 7y ago
    Yeah... you're pretty much proving my point with a fact that is not at all new to me In areas where people are living on the extremes of society and in poverty (most people in food deserts are from low-income families) they're driven to go against a social norm (not stealing), and that act is enough to drive out stores because of razor thin margins, and they close. That literally shows LP is not what's keeping stores open, it's the people choosing not to steal. The only difference affecting shrinkage between the stores that close, and the stores that stay open is the people shopping in them. As soon as the people start to steal, the store can't literally can't afford matching increases in LP to counteract it, and closes. If even a minor percentage more people decided to steal, many stores would literally not work.

BoorishBears 7y ago

I live in a city. You're describing a vast minority of stores in the US, I don't know who you're trying to fool... Sure you can go to a some neighborhoods and find stuff under lock and key and aggressive security, but the vast majorities of stores do not rely on that (in other words, the system as a whole does not rely on that, even if there are special cases for specific stores) You're waxing poetic about rioting and people driven to extreme enough poverty they feel the need to steal Tide to sell for drugs... yeah it turns out disenfranchised people in extreme situations will not respect societal norms, not some deep insight. We're talking about library books. You're straying into the most extreme ends of society to try and what exactly? Feel free to identify as someone who only doesn't steal books late fees, I assure you you'll be in the minority. >Look at how crime is celebrated in a significant amount of American culture (especially music). Also, what kind of non-sequitur is this?!

lr4444lr 7y ago
If you live in a city and have looked into the phenomenon of urban "food deserts", you'd know that it is affected in significant part by the low per store margin of a grocery store being eaten by security and shoplifting costs. The OP may be somewhat hyperbolic, but he's not all wrong.
- BoorishBears 7y ago
  Yeah... you're pretty much proving my point with a fact that is not at all new to me In areas where people are living on the extremes of society and in poverty (most people in food deserts are from low-income families) they're driven to go against a social norm (not stealing), and that act is enough to drive out stores because of razor thin margins, and they close. That literally shows LP is not what's keeping stores open, it's the people choosing not to steal. The only difference affecting shrinkage between the stores that close, and the stores that stay open is the people shopping in them. As soon as the people start to steal, the store can't literally can't afford matching increases in LP to counteract it, and closes. If even a minor percentage more people decided to steal, many stores would literally not work.