Dollar Tree is the latest retailer to say shoplifting is squeezing margins

Post by imgabe » Fri, Aug 25, 2023, 3:25 AM UTC

dragonwriter wrote: post #77

imgabe wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is just bad. You are not making the clever joke you think you are. For one thing, shopping at Dollar Tree is not an antisocial behavior that harms other people, so you do not need to justify it by saying you needed to do it. You are free to shop at Dollar Tree whether you "need" to or not if it pleases you to do so. The equivalency you're trying to draw between shoplifting and shopping at Dollar Tree isn't there…

> For one thing, shopping at Dollar Tree is not an antisocial behavior that harms other people Clearly, anyone who believes “there is no ethical consumption under capitalism” would disagree. A fair number of the people who would readily acknowledge that there is ethical consumption under capitalism, and even those that see consumption under capitalism as presumptively-but-not-categorically-ethical would also disagree…

Post by dragonwriter » Fri, Aug 25, 2023, 3:33 AM UTC

imgabe wrote: post #81

dragonwriter wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> For one thing, shopping at Dollar Tree is not an antisocial behavior that harms other people Clearly, anyone who believes “there is no ethical consumption under capitalism” would disagree. A fair number of the people who would readily acknowledge that there is ethical consumption under capitalism, and even those that see consumption under capitalism as presumptively-but-not-categorically-ethical would also disagree…

People believe all sorts of crazy things.

Post by jrflowers » Fri, Aug 25, 2023, 4:19 AM UTC

prepend wrote: post #76

mushbino wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Almost 10% of children in the US are food insecure, 60% of Americans can't afford a $1,000 emergency, and 40% can't afford a $400 emergency. We also have a homeless population of 500,000 and rapidly growing. Do you happen to live in a place that's considered to be a bubble?

There’s certainly people who need food. I’m not arguing that starvation doesn’t exist. I’m arguing that most shoplifters aren’t starving. And if they were, they wouldn’t shoplift food from dollar tree as the food is all in small packages. People who starve don’t become stupid and would likely shoplift more expensive, nutrient dense items.

Post by berbec » Fri, Aug 25, 2023, 6:54 AM UTC

prepend wrote: post #4

h2odragon wrote: post #2

If you're stealing from Dollar Tree, you're either truly needy or just in it for the thrill of being antisocial. Their stuff hasn't got any value in the store, much less fenced.

Is anyone truly needy enough to shoplift? I’m not sure how we would get good data but I’ve known a lot of shoplifters and none of them needed the food.

Post by berbec » Fri, Aug 25, 2023, 7:09 AM UTC

prepend wrote: post #79

PhasmaFelis wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you, personally, ever known anyone who couldn't afford food? But you know people like that exist, right?

Of course people can’t afford food. It’s not appropriate or accurate to think that because someone is hungry and can’t afford food that they would steal. That’s stereotyping poor people as criminals.