5 ms·

Is it too soon to talk about regulating the $#@* out of scrap-metal dealers?

by CamperBob2 5mo ago

SoftTalker 5mo ago
They already are. You need to show ID to sell scrap metal. The thieves use a fence.
- CamperBob2 5mo ago
  Where does the fence sell the scrap? Somebody is buying it.
  - MBCook 5mo ago
    Same as stolen TVs, catalytic converters, and anything else. There’s always someone who likes the money/discount more than morals/the law at the next step in the chain. Somewhere.
    - cucumber3732842 5mo ago
      >There’s always someone who likes the money/discount more than morals/the law at the next step in the chain. Somewhere. That's every scrap yard and most small businesses. Nothing makes you hate the law and it's enforcers, peddlers and proponents like being on the business end of regulations and a scrap yard probably has at least half a dozen agencies they are subject to. Heck, I bet half of these guys would aerosolize radioactive waste out of spite if they thought the wind would blow it into a "good school district".
- gacgacgac 5mo ago
  Furthermore, going after scrap metal sites makes an important business harder and fails to be inquisitive enough about the reasons why the thefts happen at all. Maybe we should try to understand why people are stealing copper. (Presumably poverty, drug addiction, lack of opportunity)
  - xp84 5mo ago
    If you believe we can just fix poverty and drug addiction with some government program, I have a bridge to sell you. So far, no one has, anywhere in the world. Many people (and once they get themselves addicted to something bad, that rises to "most") are just terrible and care only about their own short-term gain. They'd do any amount of destruction to others for some small temporary profit or fix.
    - konmok 5mo ago
      The USA opioid epidemic was caused by gross government negligence and corruption. Is it really a stretch to think that a policy solution could have prevented the majority of the harm? And do you really think there wouldn't be enough food and shelter to go around, if the government decided to get serious about poverty relief?
      - NoMoreNicksLeft 5mo ago
        The government policy might have caused it, but a reversal of the policy might never fix it. The real world is like that, unfortunately. Besides, it's not the policy you're thinking of anyway, that causes this specific problem. This specific problem (theft for scrapyard sales) is primarily caused by piss tests. If people supposedly would suck cock for a hit of crack, then they'll also scrub toilets at minimum wage for crack too. But piss tests short circuit that. Here's the problem: the government doesn't mandate pre-employment piss tests. So they can't fix it easily. It would be far harder to convince legislators to prohibit them than it would to convince them to legalize drugs. There is a corporate culture that has gone on nearly 50 years now that has normalized piss tests, and they are true believers in it. They would lobby against prohibiting the tests. But, even if all that could be done (very doubtful), we've also taught crackheads and tweakers to steal copper wire and whatever else not nailed down. We've taught them to do this for 50 years. Multiple generations of junkies and dope fiends have done this, passing down the knowledge (or what passes for that) of how to steal to feed a drug habit. They aren't going back to scrubbing toilets, even if they would have done that way back if only they hadn't been forced to stop. >And do you really think there wouldn't be enough food and shelter to go around, if the government decided to get serious about poverty relief? I think that even without the government getting serious about poverty relief, housing prices are insane and there's not enough to go around. And my grocery bill's not exactly nothing, either. And all for what, even if it did work the way you think it would, I'd get to pay for that welfare so this guy's radio station wasn't held hostage by Rudy's desperate need for bathtub meth? No thanks.
- BobbyTables2 5mo ago
  Wonder if they steal the fence too!
- julian_sark 5mo ago
  Didn't know fences contained copper ;)
quickthrowman 5mo ago
You need a license to sell more than $25 of copper in my state. You won’t be issued a copper selling license without holding something like a journeyman electrical worker license or similar. In practice, it just means the copper gets driven to Wisconsin and sold there. It’d be nice if my neighbor state gave a shit about metal theft or discouraging drunk driving, but they don’t.

Is it too soon to talk about regulating the $#@* out of scrap-metal dealers?

SoftTalker 5mo ago

They already are. You need to show ID to sell scrap metal. The thieves use a fence.

CamperBob2 5mo ago
Where does the fence sell the scrap? Somebody is buying it.
- MBCook 5mo ago
  Same as stolen TVs, catalytic converters, and anything else. There’s always someone who likes the money/discount more than morals/the law at the next step in the chain. Somewhere.
  - cucumber3732842 5mo ago
    >There’s always someone who likes the money/discount more than morals/the law at the next step in the chain. Somewhere. That's every scrap yard and most small businesses. Nothing makes you hate the law and it's enforcers, peddlers and proponents like being on the business end of regulations and a scrap yard probably has at least half a dozen agencies they are subject to. Heck, I bet half of these guys would aerosolize radioactive waste out of spite if they thought the wind would blow it into a "good school district".
gacgacgac 5mo ago
Furthermore, going after scrap metal sites makes an important business harder and fails to be inquisitive enough about the reasons why the thefts happen at all. Maybe we should try to understand why people are stealing copper. (Presumably poverty, drug addiction, lack of opportunity)
- xp84 5mo ago
  If you believe we can just fix poverty and drug addiction with some government program, I have a bridge to sell you. So far, no one has, anywhere in the world. Many people (and once they get themselves addicted to something bad, that rises to "most") are just terrible and care only about their own short-term gain. They'd do any amount of destruction to others for some small temporary profit or fix.
  - konmok 5mo ago
    The USA opioid epidemic was caused by gross government negligence and corruption. Is it really a stretch to think that a policy solution could have prevented the majority of the harm? And do you really think there wouldn't be enough food and shelter to go around, if the government decided to get serious about poverty relief?
    - NoMoreNicksLeft 5mo ago
      The government policy might have caused it, but a reversal of the policy might never fix it. The real world is like that, unfortunately. Besides, it's not the policy you're thinking of anyway, that causes this specific problem. This specific problem (theft for scrapyard sales) is primarily caused by piss tests. If people supposedly would suck cock for a hit of crack, then they'll also scrub toilets at minimum wage for crack too. But piss tests short circuit that. Here's the problem: the government doesn't mandate pre-employment piss tests. So they can't fix it easily. It would be far harder to convince legislators to prohibit them than it would to convince them to legalize drugs. There is a corporate culture that has gone on nearly 50 years now that has normalized piss tests, and they are true believers in it. They would lobby against prohibiting the tests. But, even if all that could be done (very doubtful), we've also taught crackheads and tweakers to steal copper wire and whatever else not nailed down. We've taught them to do this for 50 years. Multiple generations of junkies and dope fiends have done this, passing down the knowledge (or what passes for that) of how to steal to feed a drug habit. They aren't going back to scrubbing toilets, even if they would have done that way back if only they hadn't been forced to stop. >And do you really think there wouldn't be enough food and shelter to go around, if the government decided to get serious about poverty relief? I think that even without the government getting serious about poverty relief, housing prices are insane and there's not enough to go around. And my grocery bill's not exactly nothing, either. And all for what, even if it did work the way you think it would, I'd get to pay for that welfare so this guy's radio station wasn't held hostage by Rudy's desperate need for bathtub meth? No thanks.
BobbyTables2 5mo ago
Wonder if they steal the fence too!
julian_sark 5mo ago
Didn't know fences contained copper ;)

quickthrowman 5mo ago

You need a license to sell more than $25 of copper in my state. You won’t be issued a copper selling license without holding something like a journeyman electrical worker license or similar. In practice, it just means the copper gets driven to Wisconsin and sold there. It’d be nice if my neighbor state gave a shit about metal theft or discouraging drunk driving, but they don’t.