4 ms·

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.

by pm90 4y ago

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...
      - rahimnathwani 4y ago
        That's an opinion piece (even labelled as such), not 'excellent reporting'. Even so, I read it. I don't see how it shows what you claim (that the facts on which GP's theory is based are incorrect).
    - palmetieri2000 4y ago
      Definitely not bait! (At least, not intentionally, I'm not from the US and the above article is my only context for the problem of store closure relating to theft). I've read your article and it doesn't actually provide evidence that supports your claim (that those additional costs related to theft are what drove the closure), it just says that Walgreens cited theft as their reason for closing the store. The article even includes a quote from the Mayor contradictory to your point, who suggests Walgreens may have had other reasons for the closure. “When a place is not generating revenue and when they’re saturated – Walgreens has a lot of Walgreens locations all over the city – I do think there are other factors that come into play,"

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.

by 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...
    - rahimnathwani 4y ago
      That's an opinion piece (even labelled as such), not 'excellent reporting'. Even so, I read it. I don't see how it shows what you claim (that the facts on which GP's theory is based are incorrect).
  - palmetieri2000 4y ago
    Definitely not bait! (At least, not intentionally, I'm not from the US and the above article is my only context for the problem of store closure relating to theft). I've read your article and it doesn't actually provide evidence that supports your claim (that those additional costs related to theft are what drove the closure), it just says that Walgreens cited theft as their reason for closing the store. The article even includes a quote from the Mayor contradictory to your point, who suggests Walgreens may have had other reasons for the closure. “When a place is not generating revenue and when they’re saturated – Walgreens has a lot of Walgreens locations all over the city – I do think there are other factors that come into play,"