3 ms·

This is such a silly "gotcha". Baby food has an expiration date and goes bad (some time after the expiration date, but still), so somebody is eating them even i

by Lammy 5y ago

This is such a silly "gotcha". Baby food has an expiration date and goes bad (some time after the expiration date, but still), so somebody is eating them even if they change hands a few times first. Nobody is just deciding baby food has value and exchanging it as currency based on that agreed-upon value. Only the Treasury is allowed to do that :) https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/faqs/Currency/Pages/legal-tender.aspx https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/faqs/Currency/Pages... "Federal Reserve notes are not redeemable in gold, silver or any other commodity, and receive no backing by anything. This has been the case since 1933. The notes have no value for themselves, but for what they will buy. In another sense, because they are legal tender, Federal Reserve notes are 'backed' by all the goods and services in the economy."

nradov 5y ago
Right it's Tide laundry detergent, not baby food, that pretty criminals use as currency. https://nymag.com/news/features/tide-detergent-drugs-2013-1/ https://nymag.com/news/features/tide-detergent-drugs-2013-1/
- Lammy 5y ago
  Something that's even more shelf-stable, yeah, but it obviously still gets used unless you think people like the idea of their money turning to suds when it gets a little wet.
mc32 5y ago
"Baby formula" is often powdered. It has a longer shelf life. How is providing the exact evidence of how organized theft rings operate and steal baby formula in Tampa a "silly gotcha." It provides evidence showing the profitability of the endeavor.
- Lammy 5y ago
  > It provides evidence showing the profitability of the endeavor. Yes, so obviously an endeavor nobody would undertake without an eventual buyer. Nobody with a hungry kid is going to care about an obvious "FOR SALE AT CVS ONLY" sticker on their cheap food. It's called a "fence" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fence_(criminal) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fence_(criminal)
  - mc32 5y ago
    But that's the whole point. These thefts aren't people going hungry feeding hungry needy starving mouths. You have some people wanting to believe it's only people who have no other recourse to dying --they have to steal. No, most destitute poor people do not steal. They do without, go live with relatives, friends, beg, sell blood, dumpster dive, etc., but they're not gravitating toward UP boxcars. Those are run of the mill opportunist criminals.
    - Lammy 5y ago
      The threat of the law and their own shame is enough of a theft deterrent for "most people" even when the law is visibly ineffective, but the thieves could not exist without buyers. Since we're picking on SF as the example, honestly lol if you think anybody buys the stuff off the street around 16th–24th/Mission without knowing exactly how it got there https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/New-S-F-proposal-would-try-to-crack-down-on-16664629.php https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/New-S-F-proposal-woul...
  - Kalium 5y ago
    Like a lot of instances of food theft or counterfeiting, the fence sells the goods into the legitimate supply chain. The buyer winds up being a regular person who has no idea that this particular baby formula is stolen.

by Lammy 5y ago

nradov 5y ago

Right it's Tide laundry detergent, not baby food, that pretty criminals use as currency. https://nymag.com/news/features/tide-detergent-drugs-2013-1/ https://nymag.com/news/features/tide-detergent-drugs-2013-1/

Lammy 5y ago
Something that's even more shelf-stable, yeah, but it obviously still gets used unless you think people like the idea of their money turning to suds when it gets a little wet.

mc32 5y ago

"Baby formula" is often powdered. It has a longer shelf life. How is providing the exact evidence of how organized theft rings operate and steal baby formula in Tampa a "silly gotcha." It provides evidence showing the profitability of the endeavor.

Lammy 5y ago
> It provides evidence showing the profitability of the endeavor. Yes, so obviously an endeavor nobody would undertake without an eventual buyer. Nobody with a hungry kid is going to care about an obvious "FOR SALE AT CVS ONLY" sticker on their cheap food. It's called a "fence" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fence_(criminal) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fence_(criminal)
- mc32 5y ago
  But that's the whole point. These thefts aren't people going hungry feeding hungry needy starving mouths. You have some people wanting to believe it's only people who have no other recourse to dying --they have to steal. No, most destitute poor people do not steal. They do without, go live with relatives, friends, beg, sell blood, dumpster dive, etc., but they're not gravitating toward UP boxcars. Those are run of the mill opportunist criminals.
  - Lammy 5y ago
    The threat of the law and their own shame is enough of a theft deterrent for "most people" even when the law is visibly ineffective, but the thieves could not exist without buyers. Since we're picking on SF as the example, honestly lol if you think anybody buys the stuff off the street around 16th–24th/Mission without knowing exactly how it got there https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/New-S-F-proposal-would-try-to-crack-down-on-16664629.php https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/New-S-F-proposal-woul...
- Kalium 5y ago
  Like a lot of instances of food theft or counterfeiting, the fence sells the goods into the legitimate supply chain. The buyer winds up being a regular person who has no idea that this particular baby formula is stolen.