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More Americans are shoplifting food

washingtonpost.com

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Re: More Americans are shoplifting food

#2
>“People will say, ‘I was just hungry.’ And then what do you do?”

People stealing food to survive while the super wealthy and rich becoming richer and richer[1]. What a great time to be alive.

[1](https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2020/11/18/elon...)

EDIT: I don't particularly dislike Elon (the man has done alot of good), but he was the easiest example I could think of. Stock market is a better indicator of rich people's wealth.

Re: More Americans are shoplifting food

#3
Many people are starving because they are locked down and not able to work, but I think that the grocery self scan that so many stores are moving towards, enables food theft; or at the very least it makes it easier. It would be interesting to see exactly how much shrinkage occurs due to the self scan.

Re: More Americans are shoplifting food

#4

Many people are starving because they are locked down and not able to work, but I think that the grocery self scan that so many stores are moving towards, enables food theft; or at the very least it makes it easier. It would be interesting to see exactly how much shrinkage occurs due to the self scan.

They also save a lot of money in cashier hourly labor. At least the ones that don't keep launching into "Please wait for assistance." mode every time you accidentally scan a fruit instead of entering its PLU code.

Re: More Americans are shoplifting food

#5

Many people are starving because they are locked down and not able to work, but I think that the grocery self scan that so many stores are moving towards, enables food theft; or at the very least it makes it easier. It would be interesting to see exactly how much shrinkage occurs due to the self scan.

Might still be a net win for the store if the theft is less than the cost of employing a human cashier.

Re: More Americans are shoplifting food

#6

>“People will say, ‘I was just hungry.’ And then what do you do?” People stealing food to survive while the super wealthy and rich becoming richer and richer[1]. What a great time to be alive. [1]( https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2020/11/18/elon... ) EDIT: I don't particularly dislike Elon (the man has done alot of good), but he was the easiest example I could think of. Stock market is a better indicator…

Well, it's not like it was different at any point of history (unless you consider the most primitive civilizations.)

Re: More Americans are shoplifting food

#7

>“People will say, ‘I was just hungry.’ And then what do you do?” People stealing food to survive while the super wealthy and rich becoming richer and richer[1]. What a great time to be alive. [1]( https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2020/11/18/elon... ) EDIT: I don't particularly dislike Elon (the man has done alot of good), but he was the easiest example I could think of. Stock market is a better indicator…

Not that Elon Musk doesn't have plenty of flaws that people online will be happy to spill much ink about, but what does that have to do with widespread poverty on a national level?

Does the US not have a government and state-level and federal-level representatives whose job it is to take care of their citizens and keep them out of starvation? Elon Musk and his pals seem like a convenient distraction from holding accountable people whose job it is to protect their constituents.

Re: More Americans are shoplifting food

#8

>“People will say, ‘I was just hungry.’ And then what do you do?” People stealing food to survive while the super wealthy and rich becoming richer and richer[1]. What a great time to be alive. [1]( https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2020/11/18/elon... ) EDIT: I don't particularly dislike Elon (the man has done alot of good), but he was the easiest example I could think of. Stock market is a better indicator…

Could be worse, e.g., any prior point in time on average ...

Re: More Americans are shoplifting food

#9
Another thing that might be playing into the increased shoplifting is that a number of district attorneys are not prosecuting property crimes, especially things like shoplifting. Thus police have no incentive to do anything about that. Thus people know that they can get away with shoplifting so it is likely to go up.

Re: More Americans are shoplifting food

#10

>“People will say, ‘I was just hungry.’ And then what do you do?” People stealing food to survive while the super wealthy and rich becoming richer and richer[1]. What a great time to be alive. [1]( https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2020/11/18/elon... ) EDIT: I don't particularly dislike Elon (the man has done alot of good), but he was the easiest example I could think of. Stock market is a better indicator…

> Meanwhile, an estimated 54 million Americans will struggle with hunger this year, a 45 percent increase from 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. With food aid programs like SNAP and WIC being reduced, and other federal assistance on the brink of expiration, food banks and pantries are being inundated, reporting hours-long waits and lines that stretch into the thousands.

And meanwhile, in the other America:

> When Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump start building their new home on the 1.8-acre lot at 4 Indian Creek Island Road that they purchased for $30 million, they’ll have plenty of equally famous neighbors to get to know.

> Indian Creek Island, sometimes called “Miami’s Billionaire Bunker,” is home to an eclectic group of some of the world’s wealthiest, from singers to hedge fund managers, inventors to developers — even the founder of a company dedicated to collecting blood donations.

> Just how pricey is Indian Creek Island? According to the village’s tax rolls, the median assessed value of homes on the island in 2019 was $13.6 million. Taxes from real estate jumped 6.4% in 2019 to $87,234, along with a city property tax of $63,000.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article247709685.h...

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