4 ms·

Some people have a blasé attitude towards shoplifting/shoplifters: "Why are you defending rich companies?" This assumes that the company just eats the loss. How

by daenz 4y ago

Some people have a blasé attitude towards shoplifting/shoplifters: "Why are you defending rich companies?" This assumes that the company just eats the loss. How much of those shoplifting losses are passed onto your average consumer I wonder? If shoplifting is subsidized by everyone else, does this relationship make it an unofficial social program?

int_19h 4y ago
The obvious solution is for everyone to shoplift. ~
pm90 4y ago
If that were true then Im fine with this kind of unofficial sales tax to support people who are in desperate enough circumstances to be compelled to shoplift.
- DevKoala 4y ago
  What about poor people with a moral code? Raising prices to account for shoplifting punishes the poor too.
  - pm90 4y ago
    It does. Im not suggesting it be the model by which we help all the poor. Better solution: invest in welfare benefits and social programs. However if the choice is between paying extra v/s throwing people in prison Im not ok with the latter.
    - DevKoala 4y ago
      It doesn’t add up to me. Raising prices to account for shoplifters punishes poor people the hardest and reduces social mobility; poor people cannot save. Less social mobility makes it so that only people coming from privileged backgrounds control the destiny of poor people, thus never really fixing any issue.
- BoorishBears 4y ago
  I'm as liberal as the next person when it comes to our handling of the downtrodden, but this is nonsense. The victims of shoplifting are other poor people. After all, stores will gladly leave an area and leave other poor people with nowhere to get their goods.
  - palmetieri2000 4y ago
    >The victims of shoplifting are other poor people. After all, stores will gladly leave an area and leave other poor people with nowhere to get their goods. Not sure I follow... this would only be true if shoplifting losses exceeded profits which seems remarkably unlikely to be the case.
    - BoorishBears 4y ago
      Can't tell if this is just bait to dive into the alternative facts that often come up when people try and pretend rampant shoplifting has nothing to do with why stores are closing their branches in major cities... or if you truly don't realize the margins these stores operate on. Assuming you just don't know, having people filling garbage bags with goods in broad daylight will sink a store. It's not just the goods stolen, it's the staff that cleans up, it's the anti-shrinkage measures they bring in, it's the safety risk every time something like this happens... For a long time in an attempt to stay PC, companies refrained from admitting it was a theft problem, but now it's too far gone to pretend: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/nov/15/walgreens-closures-san-francisco-crime-debate https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/nov/15/walgreens-cl...
      - pm90 4y ago
        You’re asserting a bunch of things but the facts you’ve based your theory on are wrong. SF Chronicle did some excellent reporting on this: https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/article/sf-drug-crisis-walgreens-17323005.php https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/article/sf-drug-crisis-w...
        4y ago

by daenz 4y ago

int_19h 4y ago

The obvious solution is for everyone to shoplift. ~

pm90 4y ago

If that were true then Im fine with this kind of unofficial sales tax to support people who are in desperate enough circumstances to be compelled to shoplift.

DevKoala 4y ago
What about poor people with a moral code? Raising prices to account for shoplifting punishes the poor too.
- pm90 4y ago
  It does. Im not suggesting it be the model by which we help all the poor. Better solution: invest in welfare benefits and social programs. However if the choice is between paying extra v/s throwing people in prison Im not ok with the latter.
  - DevKoala 4y ago
    It doesn’t add up to me. Raising prices to account for shoplifters punishes poor people the hardest and reduces social mobility; poor people cannot save. Less social mobility makes it so that only people coming from privileged backgrounds control the destiny of poor people, thus never really fixing any issue.
BoorishBears 4y ago
I'm as liberal as the next person when it comes to our handling of the downtrodden, but this is nonsense. The victims of shoplifting are other poor people. After all, stores will gladly leave an area and leave other poor people with nowhere to get their goods.
- palmetieri2000 4y ago
  >The victims of shoplifting are other poor people. After all, stores will gladly leave an area and leave other poor people with nowhere to get their goods. Not sure I follow... this would only be true if shoplifting losses exceeded profits which seems remarkably unlikely to be the case.
  - BoorishBears 4y ago
    Can't tell if this is just bait to dive into the alternative facts that often come up when people try and pretend rampant shoplifting has nothing to do with why stores are closing their branches in major cities... or if you truly don't realize the margins these stores operate on. Assuming you just don't know, having people filling garbage bags with goods in broad daylight will sink a store. It's not just the goods stolen, it's the staff that cleans up, it's the anti-shrinkage measures they bring in, it's the safety risk every time something like this happens... For a long time in an attempt to stay PC, companies refrained from admitting it was a theft problem, but now it's too far gone to pretend: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/nov/15/walgreens-closures-san-francisco-crime-debate https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/nov/15/walgreens-cl...
    - pm90 4y ago
      You’re asserting a bunch of things but the facts you’ve based your theory on are wrong. SF Chronicle did some excellent reporting on this: https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/article/sf-drug-crisis-walgreens-17323005.php https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/article/sf-drug-crisis-w...
      - 4y ago