Steal now, pay later

 My father used to manage a drug store, and I learned a lot about customer service, merchandising, and more. One of my biggest lessons was to NEVER STEAL.  My parents once told me that if I was ever in trouble, I could call them.

However, if I got arrested for stealing, they said, they’d tell the police to put me under the jail, reminding me there is absolutely no excuse to ever steal. As I have observed situations through my life, I still believe they were right.

So you can imagine my cringe factor when I saw this video of a woman (warning: strong language) with a designer handbag, sitting in a nice car with a child’s car seat behind her as she shows off the loot she just stole from a store. Her food stamps were cut off, but the stuff she was stealing was not to fill her pantry for her kids. It was high end goods.

I have never had money to waste and when my kids were small, I did everything I could to economize. I never though about stuffed salmon, which this woman mentions. Pork ribs? Nope. We stuck to meat that could  make a hearty meal with hopefully leftovers. Most often, I used hamburger for spaghetti sauce or in other mixtures with pasta to make is stretch.

She also mentions that people should just take what they want because they have free will. She even refers to “imminent domain” and the right to take things. I’d quote her more precisely, but frankly, I don’t have the patience to sit through her ramblings again. I am exerting my free will and shutting off her verbal swill.

People often use corporate greed as an excuse to steal. “Companies can afford it,” they say. When a person steals from a chain store, they are hurting the local community—not the store. A chain will raise prices to cover ongoing loss, and they’ll close a store if there is no profit. As a result, workers lose jobs, the empty building looks bad in the neighborhood, real estate (whether a business or residential) will lose its value. In turn, the town may raise taxes to cover the loss from the business going away.

Crime-ridden areas become impossible to renovate and restore. It’s an uphill battle and investors won’t be drawn to support areas where they will lose money. Bank loans will be impossible to obtain by anyone wanting to open new business in the area. And why would they establish a business in an area that is known for looting and stealing?

Then there’s the potential punishment if a person is caught stealing. Why risk it? Fines, court costs, jail time, and more just outweigh any personal benefit from stealing.

Aside from the practical reasons for not stealing, there are less tangible but equally important reasons to shop honestly—morality. If an item is not yours, if you didn’t pay for it, don’t touch it. Period.  Respect things that belong to other people because it’s the right thing to do.

If someone went in this woman’s house and started going through her jewelry, her clothes, or her cabinets and just took what they wanted, I guarantee she’d have a hissy fit. Her stealing from a store is no different. We (should) have been taught as kids to respect other people’s property meaning, if you borrow something, take care if it like it is your own and return the item in the same condition.

Those of us that were taught, carry forth those rules to use school books, office supplies, library materials, and other objects we are allowed to use. Unfortunately, it is easy to recognize the people that were not taught the rules, or that just don’t care and think others will pay for the damage.

When the government runs out of ways to tax people to cover the cost of lost property taxes, the money to pay for the free stuff will disappear.

Yes, we have free will. And by using that free will wisely, we avoid creating our own problems down the road. She’s stealing now, but her actions will come around and get her later in a way she wasn’t expecting.