Every time I go to the grocery store, I pay far more for far less – as we all do.
We also know that businesses, including grocers, pass along many costs to consumers, including the cost of shoplifting.
At a grocery store in the city, there are often panhandlers on the corner seeking handouts. One in particular appears well dressed and is accompanied by a well-groomed dog. I’ve been told that this individual frequently steals from the market, and when confronted, creates such a scene that the store simply allows all instances of their shoplifting to continue unchallenged.
I recently saw a bindlestiff load a backpack full of items and walk straight out the front door – again, unchallenged.
If the market chooses to knowingly let people steal without consequences, why should the rest of us be expected to cover those thefts? It’s the store’s responsibility to safeguard their merchandise rather than just turn a blind eye and make us pay even more.
With grocery prices skyrocketing out of the galaxy, this unchecked theft only adds to our burdensome costs, for which we receive nothing.
I would argue that markets either stop passing the cost of their negligence on to consumers, or at the very least, take steps – such as hiring security – to prevent theft in the first place.
I am tired of paying for others' bad behaviors. Let the thief face the legal consequences and make them pay, even if they pitch a fit while being arrested.
Rodrigo Diaz
Durango
