(cont'd from yesterday's post)
Some assume that retail theft is understandable and forgivable, as one woman said while robbing a grocery store: "I have to feed my family!" But much of it has nothing to do with feeding families. It’s about reselling stolen items for profit.
"Organized retail crime" is a thing, defined as coordinated theft of merchandise by individuals and groups. "Underlying our current crime wave is the emergence of a sophisticated illegal infrastructure for recruiting shoplifters."
Shoplifting is yet another dysfunction of our society that's made worse by social media. No need to peddle stolen goods on the street when you can put it on Craigslist or Facebook Market Place. Reddit educates shoplifters on how to do it at Walmart and Publix.
Anti-capitalist rhetoric may claim it's a valid way to "tackle the system." That woman taking food may have bought into the thinking. If this is the only way she can feed her family, then she's cleared of any wrongdoing and somebody should help her!
Wait . . help is provided by every level of government (county, city, state, federal). Last year the U.S. spent $185 billion on food stamps and other nutrition assistance programs. Looks like she and others like her could actually feed a family without stealing food.
from City Journal
(cont'd tomorrow)
No comments:
Post a Comment