[dunewalker]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JJ', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dunewalker', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('perdition79', ' ')

Simple rules of merchandising:

If you wouldn't buy it, don't try to sell it.

[Tyler_JC]

Dunewalker, you read my mind.

Why should I have to pay for a grocer's damaged goods?

If the grocery store isn't happy with the waste, maybe they should try a little harder to get better products. This notion that everyone should just settle for mediocrity is, frankly, pathetic. We didn't climb out of the primordial ooze just to eat squishy bananas.

Moreover, the people who steal a grape here and there aren't a store's biggest problem. For every dollar they steal in merchandise, they buy $100. It's like an unofficial free sample.

[jupiters_release]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JJ', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dunewalker', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('perdition79', ' ')

Simple rules of merchandising:

If you wouldn't buy it, don't try to sell it.

[Geodesic]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('hope_full', 'T')he other day, I walked into a large-chain drugstore that isn't too far from our downtown and so it has more than its fair share of homeless men wandering around.

As I walked in, I saw a very rough-looking guy walking out. He had a large back pack on, and he smelled bad and looked worse.

As he passed through the sensors flanking the door, the blinky red lights came on and the "beep, beep, beep" of the alarm started bleating loudly.

He did not have *anything* (packages or otherwise) in his hands. As he continued on his way, the cashier simply reached under the counter and turned off the alarm and he went on his merry way.

I also looked at the cashier and I wanted to say, "Really? Is this how the game is played now? Because, i don't need much stuff and I'm short on cash just now and I'd rather just grab what I need and be on my way, so is it okay if I just walk out without paying?"

But I said not a word. I selected my items and went to the cashier and gave up a few of my dollars and went home.

It occurs to me that our society is based almost wholly on good faith and good morals. And it seems that the criminal element is getting the upper hand, if they're free to steal us blind and walk away with no repercussions.

And if the economy continues to deteriorate, how safe are we in our homes? I know in our area, burglaries are up. Larcenies are up. It's pretty unnerving. And the #1 complaint: "The police said there's not much they can do about the theft..."

What's the solution for us simple-minded fools who continue to play by the rules?

[JJ]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Tyler_JC', 'D')unewalker, you read my mind.

Why should I have to pay for a grocer's damaged goods?

If the grocery store isn't happy with the waste, maybe they should try a little harder to get better products. This notion that everyone should just settle for mediocrity is, frankly, pathetic. We didn't climb out of the primordial ooze just to eat squishy bananas.

Moreover, the people who steal a grape here and there aren't a store's biggest problem. For every dollar they steal in merchandise, they buy $100. It's like an unofficial free sample.

[vision-master]

I buy 'damaged' food goods or 'past date' stuff from a couple discount stores for half retail price or less.

[JJ]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vision-master', 'I') buy 'damaged' food goods or 'past date' stuff from a couple discount stores for half retail price or less.

[JJ]

in retrospect, I'm about to become an anachronism.

[joewp]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Geodesic', '
')
Petty shoplifting bothers you but the trillion dollar thefts by the billionaire banksters and military contractors you're ok with. Wow, have you got your priorities screwed up. Why don't you go wag your finger at the perpetrators of this financial debacle instead of their victims? Good luck finding them in their multimillion dollar Park Ave. penthouses and Bahamas villas paid for with your tax dollars and their deregulation assisted Ponzi schemes.

[perdition79]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JJ', 'B')ut I do know that no kind of accountability will work in our current system. We are just trying to feed too many people. For better quality, better to go to an organic store and be prepared to pay more. The current system will not tolerate the attention to quality you are talking about.

[JJ]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('perdition79', 'T')hat's what I wanted to see, an admission of systemic failure. Anecdotes of a lack of quality control at all levels always amuse me. --snip-- On the micro level, even one out of six bananas on a bunch looking bad is unacceptable.

[nobodypanic]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('hope_full', 'W')hat's the solution for us simple-minded fools who continue to play by the rules?

[Pretorian]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('nobodypanic', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('hope_full', ' ') What's the solution for us simple-minded fools who continue to play by the rules?

[nobodypanic]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pretorian', 'A')ll US jobs are jobs with pay that is waaay over living wages. Get real. Call me when your ship will be passing our galaxy again.

[JJ]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('nobodypanic', 'g')o flirt w/a singularity Text deleted..

[nobodypanic]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JJ', ' ') uhhh, ever live in the Philippines? Where a doctor or lawyer works for five dollars a day? --snip--He kept trying to tell me what its like (been there done that). For the first time in ten years I saw him scared.

[pedalling_faster]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('hope_full', 'I')t occurs to me that our society is based almost wholly on good faith and good morals. And it seems that the criminal element is getting the upper hand, if they're free to steal us blind and walk away with no repercussions.

And if the economy continues to deteriorate, how safe are we in our homes? I know in our area, burglaries are up. Larcenies are up. It's pretty unnerving. And the #1 complaint: "The police said there's not much they can do about the theft..."

[HeckuvaJob]

For more info about bruised fruit and other atrocities in the produce isle, read Nobodies: Modern American Slave Labor and the Dark Side of the New Global Economy - it's a comedy about the exorbitant living wage paid to all Americans.

I've made the following observations during the brief period when I had the privilege of working with the homeless:

1. None of them set out with the goal of becoming homeless. Sometimes all it takes is a job layoff, a house fire, an abusive relationship (spouse or parent), unpaid medical bills, a divorce, inability to get treatment for mental illness or substance abuse, corrupt land lords, or even a car breaking down. Think finding a job is tough today? Try doing it while homeless. You might be surprised at just how slippery the slope of middle-class subsistence really is, which leads me to...

2. It's not the bottom 10% that's "robbing you blind" - it's the top 1%. Any legislator or legislation that cuts social services is weakening your community, and a strong, supportive community might one day be your only salvation (see #1 above). St. Ronald's fictitious Cadillac-driving welfare queen provided a convenient scapegoat that the public could easily vilify. Some minority driving a luxury sedan that you paid for was a great distraction from tax and trade policies that gut the middle class. It's hard to overstate Reagan's damage to the middle class, in fact, he might even be tied with Clinton.

Some of you may be thinking, but I'm Not One Of Those 'Love Thy Neighbor' Christians. Not a problem - you can help support your community regardless of religious beliefs.

Just my $0.02 - the view from your gated community may differ.

[vision-master]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'W')hen you see someone shoplifting...

[JJ]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vision-master', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'W')hen you see someone shoplifting...