I just witnessed someone steal food. Do you believe this is justified?

[IHaveRespawned]

I was just at my local Kroger supermarket, and I watched a family with a little girl walk out of the entrance holding 2 bananas in her hand. The alarms went off at the one-way gates they installed in the last couple of years. The mother had a look on her face, and I heard her say aloud "well we didn't buy anything!". Shortly thereafter, I saw the security guy walk towards the entrance, and I kept my mouth shut.

Listen, people have to eat. It is an essential element of survival. I am not going to harp on anyone needing food, especially when a child is involved. I can understand if someone was stealing a smartphone or some fancy item, but I guarantee Kroger Co is not going to struggle from that theft in the least.

Prices everywhere from everyday essentials, to housing, utilities, and just about everything has been exorbitant. You can feel the gouging at every direction. People need to survive, and I don't blame them.

Yes

No

[NaultD]

https://www.newsweek.com/kroger-executive-admits-company-gouged-prices-above-inflation-1945742

It's like 3% is from shrink. Food and it's nature being edible is going to rot or break and go in the trash. No use crying over spilled milk.

Yet we still have to deal with those locking wheels when we want to leave too fast. Kroger is making 30% more profit after adjustments over the inflation and make us look like assholes.

[Shiprex]

The actually lay out fruit (bananas mainly) in stores in Sweden that children are allowed to eat as they please when they visit the stores. It's a healthy way to make sure kids aren't doing without.

[exitseven]

Even though the cost of shoplifting is absorbed by the rest of us I would not have said anything either.

[IHaveRespawned]

The smart thing to do is to not raise prices so much that everyday Americans are struggling to afford the basic necessities, that way no one has to absorb anything (or at least very, very minimal). The US has plenty of food. I traveled through cornfields and soybean fields for hours, and that was even just a very small fraction of what we produce. The food cost crisis I feel is manufactured.

Even smarter, I feel people should just start growing, canning, and processing their own food. I tried this year, and sadly, it didn't produce as much as expected (harsh heat and inconsistent periods of rain), but I will keep doing this every year from now on.

[Avicenna]

Grocery stores' profit margins are tiny. Has that family applied for SNAP (food stamps)? Have they been to the local food bank?

[BarryLiverstone]

Not right to steel. There are other places to get food

[msc545]

It is often justified.