Workers in the US have an estimated $50bn-plus stolen from them every year, according to the Economic Policy Institute, surpassing all robberies, burglaries and motor vehicle thefts combined. The majority of these stolen wages are never recovered by workers.
Not surprised, honestly, but I'd never heard that comparison before.
Greed causes an over abundance of theft. If there is excessive theft, it's because of excessive greed.
When people are struggling and banks are telling retailers there is excessive consumer surplus, and retailers raise prices excessively (greed), theft will inevitably increase.
If I see someone shoplifting necessities, no I didn't. If I see someone shoplifting stupid luxury items, maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Depends on the situation. If it's a dumbass white kid who thinks they're being funny, I sure as fuck did.
And then low cost grocery stores close and neighbors starve. How about you help them pay for it since you are there? Is a little personal ownership over the things you see too much for you?
How about the government does better to ensure that it’s people don’t starve? Or maybe companies should pay their employees more instead of funnelling money to people who are already more than set for life?
While that might be the only direct result, you're also assuming that A) it's only taking place in major chain stores and B) that the effects won't include price hikes for everyone to compensate for that slight dip in profits.
In reality, corporations have showed us they're never going to just "take the L". If something negatively impacts their bottom line, they'll make up for it by forcing that financial burden onto their customers.
If you would take the boot out of your mouth for literally one second, you would know that shrink is decreasing in almost all available metrics in the entire retail industry.
In my local community I have noticed a strong uptick, talking to store staff. But with wage insecurity and high food prices, “steal or watch your kid starve” isn’t really a decision. And yes, higher ticket items are being stolen, which some people are pointing at like there’s a difference: if the punishment is the same, why not steal the prime rib?
There have been lots of stores that claim to close locations due to looting when it’s the not the case. There is a lot of opportunistic bs happening with stores these days from price gouging to straight up shutting down certain areas for things like unionizing
You mean retail wage theft?
What's the source on this? Want to explore it and share with a couple people.
Current Affairs article from 2017
The article links to a reddit post, which has been deleted - so not sure of the source data.
Here's a recent article with the same points and similar figures, and several source links.
The Guardian
Thanks to both of you. Damn.
Not surprised, honestly, but I'd never heard that comparison before.
Greed causes an over abundance of theft. If there is excessive theft, it's because of excessive greed.
When people are struggling and banks are telling retailers there is excessive consumer surplus, and retailers raise prices excessively (greed), theft will inevitably increase.
You had me in the first half, ngl..
Is nearly everything in the 24 hour news cycle overblown?
Everything but the climate catastrophe were facing ...
Their "inflation" rate is faster than the theft rise rate.
The rich are the thieves. <-Period
You can see the blood everywhere. It's even worse because they produce absolutely nothing.
If I see someone shoplifting necessities, no I didn't. If I see someone shoplifting stupid luxury items, maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Depends on the situation. If it's a dumbass white kid who thinks they're being funny, I sure as fuck did.
White people can be poor, or motivated by any other force motivating any other ethnicity thief.
And then low cost grocery stores close and neighbors starve. How about you help them pay for it since you are there? Is a little personal ownership over the things you see too much for you?
How about the government does better to ensure that it’s people don’t starve? Or maybe companies should pay their employees more instead of funnelling money to people who are already more than set for life?
We're talking about you and your actions. Additionally, you are making the problem worse.
What does this even mean?
While that might be the only direct result, you're also assuming that A) it's only taking place in major chain stores and B) that the effects won't include price hikes for everyone to compensate for that slight dip in profits.
In reality, corporations have showed us they're never going to just "take the L". If something negatively impacts their bottom line, they'll make up for it by forcing that financial burden onto their customers.
And if you see someone shoplift food/formula then no, the absolute fuck you didn't.
This only applies to food and basic necessities
Yeah nah fuck those guys. More shrink means my hours get cut.
"Shrink" is just another way to spell "your boss is part of the system that bleeds you dry".
Shrinkage is already taken into account as a business expense.
But more shrink isn't.
If you would take the boot out of your mouth for literally one second, you would know that shrink is decreasing in almost all available metrics in the entire retail industry.
Facts don’t care about your feelings, corpo dog.
Lol I was responding to a specific comment. Take a deep breath, baby boy.
Schroedinger's retail theft. The answer is both that it's up and that it's overblown.
We wouldn't have retail theft if the 1% paid their taxes and shared the wealth they stole from everyone else.
If you overvalue possessions, People begin to steal.
Tao Te Ching, ch3
this has been known for quite a while
Remember; if you see someone shoplifting, no you didn't.
And a mob? They're unsafe.
Remember, when stores close in high crime areas and neighborhoods decline, it's this person's fault.
It’s just that the supply chain excuse for jacking up prices is going away, so they need another BS excuse.
Shouldn’t the free market compensate by hiring more security guards and loss prevention officers?
Nah, margins are already thin on retail stores. If you cant profit or even break even, whats the point?
It’s simply a cost of doing business.
If that business owner can’t figure out how to run their company someone else will.
That's exactly what's happening. They close up shop, and someone else can take the location.
Yeah and the new people either adept to the new market or they go bust as well.
In my local community I have noticed a strong uptick, talking to store staff. But with wage insecurity and high food prices, “steal or watch your kid starve” isn’t really a decision. And yes, higher ticket items are being stolen, which some people are pointing at like there’s a difference: if the punishment is the same, why not steal the prime rib?
Yes.
There have been lots of stores that claim to close locations due to looting when it’s the not the case. There is a lot of opportunistic bs happening with stores these days from price gouging to straight up shutting down certain areas for things like unionizing