Shoplifting and looting becoming more common

[Zebra3]

'Don't demonize them': Chicago's new mayor-elect says it's 'not constructive' to vilify marauding gang of teens that torched cars in rampage organized on social media

And we thought Lightfoot was a scourge. Ain't seen nothin' yet.

[+DieChecker]

On 4/14/2023 at 5:12 PM, acidhead said:

 

Local leaders need to influence their CITIZENS, not the stores, to not raise idiots and thieves. Poverty is a poor excuse to allow crime.

[+DieChecker]

4 hours ago, Zebra3 said:

'Don't demonize them': Chicago's new mayor-elect says it's 'not constructive' to vilify marauding gang of teens that torched cars in rampage organized on social media

And we thought Lightfoot was a scourge. Ain't seen nothin' yet.

Then demonize who? The people that work hard to buy and pay for cars and decent homes?

Pure liberal stupid.

[Myles]

15 hours ago, DieChecker said:

Then demonize who? The people that work hard to buy and pay for cars and decent homes?

Pure liberal stupid.

It is stupid.   YES we should demonize criminals.   The democrats love their criminals.

[Zebra3]

"Eff the Po-Po!" - NYC politicians.

Idiots.

New video shows suspect with 11 prior arrests hit NYPD cop with bottle in broad daylight attack

https://nypost.com/2023/04/18/new-video-shows-man-hit-nypd-cop-with-bottle-in-broad-daylight-attack/

[Zebra3]

Liberal utopia.

 

[+DieChecker]

9 hours ago, Zebra3 said:

Liberal utopia.

 

I swear, though genetically "intelligent" humans, some of these people are just basic animals in their actions.

[+DieChecker]

15 hours ago, Myles said:

It is stupid.   YES we should demonize criminals.   The democrats love their criminals.

They call them "a dependable voting block".

[itsnotoutthere]

 

[darkmoonlady]

I worry more about wage theft by corporate conglomerates. If you work for a company that refuses to pay a living wage, gives huge bonuses to CEOs while employees sleep in their cars. What it boils down to is if it's been made clear you are trapped in a system that keeps you from getting out of poverty, why should you play by the rules set up to make you fail? I don't agree with crime but this crime vs large scale theft by corporations, banks, etc takes way more of taxpayer money in the end than this type of crime. How much did bank bailouts cost us vs property theft? Are they comparable?

700 billion + for bailouts, not including Freddie and Fannie....also doesn't include latest Silicon Bank..

https://projects.propublica.org/bailout/list

Shoplifting between 68 and 100 billion. 

[Michelle]

26 minutes ago, darkmoonlady said:

What it boils down to is if it's been made clear you are trapped in a system that keeps you from getting out of poverty, why should you play by the rules set up to make you fail?

That's an excuse. Working fast food and the like were never meant to raise a family on. Those jobs are for students dipping their toe into the work force and have no experience. There are all kinds of opportunities that aren't being taken advantage of if they don't like it.

 

Tennessee Promise provides Tennessee high school graduates the opportunity to attend a community or technical college free of tuition and mandatory fees.  Tennessee Promise is both a scholarship and mentoring program. 

It will provide students a last-dollar scholarship, meaning the scholarship will cover tuition and fees not covered by the Pell grant, the HOPE scholarship, or TSAA funds. Students may use the scholarship at any of the College System of Tennessee’s 13 community colleges or 24 colleges of applied technology.  

While removing the financial burden is key, a critical component of Tennessee Promise is the individual guidance each participant will receive from a mentor who will assist the student as he or she navigates the college admissions process. In addition, Tennessee Promise participants must complete eight hours of community service per term enrolled, as well as maintain satisfactory academic progress (2.0 GPA) at their institution.

cont...

https://www.tbr.edu/initiatives/tn-promise

[darkmoonlady]

7 minutes ago, Michelle said:

That's an excuse. Working fast food and the like were never meant to raise a family on. Those jobs are for students dipping their toe into the work force and have no experience. There are all kinds of opportunities that aren't being taken advantage of if they don't like it.

 

Tennessee Promise provides Tennessee high school graduates the opportunity to attend a community or technical college free of tuition and mandatory fees.  Tennessee Promise is both a scholarship and mentoring program. 

It will provide students a last-dollar scholarship, meaning the scholarship will cover tuition and fees not covered by the Pell grant, the HOPE scholarship, or TSAA funds. Students may use the scholarship at any of the College System of Tennessee’s 13 community colleges or 24 colleges of applied technology.  

While removing the financial burden is key, a critical component of Tennessee Promise is the individual guidance each participant will receive from a mentor who will assist the student as he or she navigates the college admissions process. In addition, Tennessee Promise participants must complete eight hours of community service per term enrolled, as well as maintain satisfactory academic progress (2.0 GPA) at their institution.

cont...

https://www.tbr.edu/initiatives/tn-promise

That looks like a great program. It's one program in one state. Doesn't really address that if you are in abject poverty, getting out of it isn't as simple as getting some financial help for college, it's helpful yes but it's not all encompassing to raise people out of poverty.

[+Desertrat56]

35 minutes ago, Michelle said:

That's an excuse. Working fast food and the like were never meant to raise a family on. Those jobs are for students dipping their toe into the work force and have no experience.

Those are not the only minimum wage or barely above minimum wage jobs and not what (in my opinion) @darkmoonlady is talking about.   My daughter, with a college degree, got an entry level job with a big national financial firm and she still did not make enough to pay rent and  buy groceries or pay other bills in the same month.  It has been 7 years and she is just now earning enough to make ends meet and that is after two promotions with raises and a couple of bonus'.   She and her son lived with me for 3 years so that she could manage financially.   She earned better money at her job at the hospital before she got her degree but the hours and benefits were terrible, especially for a single mom.   And that job is really the one that I thought of (as well as a job I had with a doctors office).  It isn't just corporations that take advantage, but it is more obvious that you are just a disposable cog in a wheel in a corporate job, unless you are upper management.   

Edited April 19, 2023 by Desertrat56

[Michelle]

16 minutes ago, darkmoonlady said:

That looks like a great program. It's one program in one state. Doesn't really address that if you are in abject poverty, getting out of it isn't as simple as getting some financial help for college, it's helpful yes but it's not all encompassing to raise people out of poverty.

It's not getting some financial help. It is totally free. And the credits are transferable to four year colleges if you decide to go further. There are currently about 30 states with the same programs but different stipulations.

[Zebra3]

Home Depot worker fatally shot in California was trying to stop shoplifting, witnesses say

https://www.foxnews.com/us/home-depot-worker-fatally-shot-california-trying-stop-shoplifting-witnesses-say

 

[+Desertrat56]

7 minutes ago, Michelle said:

It's not getting some financial help. It is totally free. And the credits are transferable to four year colleges if you decide to go further. There are currently about 30 states with the same programs but different stipulations.

One problem is that college is not for everyone.   AND we need more plumbers, electricians, carpenters, mechanics etc.   College has been shoved down our throats as the only way to get out of poverty, but it is not the only way.  We need programs for kids that like to work with their hands and do not care about book learning.   

[Michelle]

2 minutes ago, Desertrat56 said:

Those are not the only minimum wage or barely above minimum wage jobs and not what (in my opinion) @darkmoonlady is talking about.   My daughter with a college degree got an entry level job with a big national financial firm and she still did not make enough to pay rent and  buy groceries or pay other bills in the same month.  It has been 7 years and she is just now earning enough to make ends meet and that is after two promotions with raises and a couple of bonus'.   She and her son lived with me for 3 years so that she could manage financially.   She earned better money at her job at the hospital before she got her degree but the hours and benefits were terrible, especially for a single mom.   And that job is really the one that I thought of (as well as a job I had with a doctors office).  It isn't just corporations that take advantage, but it is more obvious that you are just a disposable cog in a wheel in a corporate job, unless you are upper management.   

The people who work jobs that others think demeaning are the ones that make the most money. We trained a 19 year old, tiny 5'3" girl to weld in our shop. She became overwhelmed with the wide variety of things we build and repair. We got her an assembly line job welding clean new parts and after two years she went from making $35 to $57 and hour.

[Michelle]

1 minute ago, Desertrat56 said:

One problem is that college is not for everyone.   AND we need more plumbers, electricians, carpenters, mechanics etc.   College has been shoved down our throats as the only way to get out of poverty, but it is not the only way.  We need programs for kids that like to work with their hands and do not care about book learning.   

Those two year community colleges teach all of that.

[+Desertrat56]

5 minutes ago, Michelle said:

The people who work jobs that others think demeaning are the ones that make the most money. We trained a 19 year old, tiny 5'3" girl to weld in our shop. She became overwhelmed with the wide variety of things we build and repair. We got her an assembly line job welding clean new parts and after two years she went from making $35 to $57 and hour.

My grandson and my cousin's grandson are both welders.   My cousin's grandson had a plan to earn his living as a welder and pay for college, I am not sure if he ever finished college but he took night classes while working.   My grandson has only been working for a year and is looking for his 3rd job.  He is still trying to figure out what kind of welding he wants to do, and the current job lost business so they moved him to the auto shop so he isn't doing any welding.   If they are able to join a union they earn a lot more money.   But union dues are high for pipe fitters.  I don't know what other unions there are for welders.

[+Desertrat56]

7 minutes ago, Michelle said:

Those two year community colleges teach all of that.

There are also one year schools.  My grandson went to welding school, my daughter finished a 9 month pharmacy tech school 20 years ago.   

[Michelle]

6 minutes ago, Desertrat56 said:

If they are able to join a union they earn a lot more money.   But union dues are high for pipe fitters.  I don't know what other unions there are for welders.

Ironworker and boilermaker unions. We don't have a lot of union shops around here. The benefits and pay are already above average and unions don't get a cut. You would have to be in one to work somewhere like a nuclear power plant

[Tatetopa]

55 minutes ago, Michelle said:

The people who work jobs that others think demeaning are the ones that make the most money. We trained a 19 year old, tiny 5'3" girl to weld in our shop. She became overwhelmed with the wide variety of things we build and repair. We got her an assembly line job welding clean new parts and after two years she went from making $35 to $57 and hour.

I totally agree that is the  truth for people of our economic class.  It is a smart way to go and improve our own lives.  I went from being a sawmill and forestry worker to an engineer.  I made pretty good money in the woods.  Although some people may consider it demeaning, that did not bother me.  It was the snow, the mud, the rain, dangerous conditions the toll of injuries and getting up at 4:30 to spend an hour getting  to a landing every day by 6:00 AM  that added up.  At 20,  It was wonderful to be in the woods despite all of that.  At 30 crawling around on your back in the mud fixing a broken log loader and feeling some of those injuries, you start thinking there must be a better way.   You look around at your 40-50 year old friends on the crew  and notice they limp, they walk bent funny, or they can't open and close their hands without pain.  Then the Aha moment comes when you know you have to make a plan to get out or you will wind up like them.  

I started a good education, left it to work in the woods and mills because I needed to support myself, then decided to go back and finish it off.   The transition required some extra hours and work. Then I became an engineer, and was hired as such.  I got to use my brain a lot more and that was enjoyable too.  I still worked on the shop floor  with the crews most of the time and I did make a lot more money that the average factory worker, but only a little more than a well paid logger. They truly deserve all they get paid and more. Best part,  I knew my mind and body would last another 40 years and I could still support myself and work until I was 65-70, without ending with a disability income.

Pretty good, but for the rest of my career,  I missed the woods, the smell of Douglas fir sawdust, and the beauty of freshly cut lumber being peeled off a big old growth log.  Looking back, I am glad I went through all of it and survived to have that store of memories and the  odd skills I picked up here and there.

[+Desertrat56]

1 hour ago, Michelle said:

Ironworker and boilermaker unions. We don't have a lot of union shops around here. The benefits and pay are already above average and unions don't get a cut. You would have to be in one to work somewhere like a nuclear power plant

In Arizona, where my grandson lives, there are unions all over.  In New Mexico some unions exist but they are not popular.   The teamsters got in to trouble trying to get some of the trucking companies to become union using intimidation.   One company my son in law worked in was involved in that, the teamsters used some pretty weird intimidation tactics.  He spoke out against some of it and then they started harrassing him.  Somehow the workers voted to go union and 4 years later they all quit the union and had the boss help them get rid of the teamsters harrassing them.   It cost the owner of that company a lot of money.   But people did not pay attention, believed the lies and then found out the union did not support them, just wanted a foothold in the area.   Unions are good until they get too big and change their purpose from protecting workers to ensuring the unions existence.

[+DieChecker]

Minimum wage is a fail.

You raise a fast food worker from $10 an hour to $15 an hour, and rather then getting ahead, the apartments they live at raises rent from $800 a month to $1200 a month.

Though to be fair, with, or without, the payraise, the rent will always go up. 

Rather then paying people more and spurring inflation. We need to reduce costs, like rent, for those at the bottom end.

[+DieChecker]

7 hours ago, itsnotoutthere said:

 

I'll bet anything that fellow is not stealing to eat, or stealing stuff he needs. He's stealing to sell. He's got a cost free supplier for his online store.