Discussion This is why retail businesses don't succeed in America without heavy markups..

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NWRMidnight

Diamond Member
Jun 18, 2001
3,563
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So we just let thieves continue to steal and take over our cities because "there's no money" and not enough cops to enforce the law? That's the stupidest thing I ever heard and yes there is money, they just spend it irresponsibly. We pay almost half our salary in taxes to all levels of government. Use that money more responsibly and for things that actually help the tax payers. Protecting the tax payers from constantly having their stuff stolen is a good use of tax money.

And just let people defend their property, it's not that hard. I get there is not enough cops, that's why people should have the right to handle it themselves. That cost nothing, and would be something that could be changed quickly enough. Well as quick as it takes to change legislation, which I guess can be quite slow, but do it anyway.

But not enough jail is a dumb excuse to let crime go rampant. Commit any crime against the government itself such as tax fraud, and see how fast they find a jail cell for you. There is always room and they can always make more room.

It has nothing to do with reading comprehension, I completely understand what is being said and I am disagreeing with it because it is dumb
What's dumb is thinking you should be able to take the law into your own hands, and as a homeowner/business owner, putting materialistic objects above life is ok. Materialist objects are all your "property", including money. As all of that can be replaced. Life cannot. Life is the only thing worth protecting, materialistic objects are not, no matter what it is. ultimately your life and others, is what you risk every time you confront a thief, or who you presume is a thief, which can and will cause innocent people to get harmed.

Society has evolved away from your archaic way of thinking, even where laws permit it. History shows why that is so. You want to go backwards as a society, and ignore the actual cause of the rise in stealing and robberies. I already told you what the primary cause is, (social and economical injustice, that brings acts of desperation).

It's sad that you believe your tv, or anything else you own is worth someone's life, that someones stupid decisions, or acts of desperation should give you the right to harm them. There's a reason we have laws, law enforcement, judicial systems. History shows why it's bad for citizens to take the law into their own hands, and is littered with innocent people being injured or killed, as well as homeowners/business owners-employees being injured and killed.

So you know, I have been robbed 3 times in my life, equaling thasands if not tens of thousands of dollars in losses. I have also been jumped closing up business, in an attempt to get in and still shit. Fortunately I still had an employee there who literally saved my life, and no, me carrying a gun wouldn't have helped as I was blind sided by rock to the head that he continued to keep beating me in the head with. The employee didn't get involved to protect or save the materialistic objects inside the business, he did it to save my life. Fuck the shit inside. It can be replaced, my life or other can't be replaced.

Honestly, I think your "belief" of how it should be, and what the government can do "easily", is both very naive and ignorant.
 
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Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
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What's dumb is thinking you should be able to take the law into your own hands, and as a homeowner/business owner, putting materialistic objects above life is ok. Materialist objects are all your "property", including money. As all of that can be replaced.

At a cost to me. And what if I don't have money to replace it in first place and why should I be the one that has to deal with it anyway? The thief's life has zero value the minute he has intentions to take from me, damage my property, or do harm. If he does not want to die then don't steal! Choices have consequences.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
70,536
13,787
126
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That's what we keep telling you the costs of living in the middle of nowhere and the policies you support, but you still come and complain about your taxes.

I'd still have to pay the same taxes anywhere else. In fact it's more expensive to live in the bigger cities. Taxes and cost of living as a whole are way too high these days for what we get, but that's a whole other issue. Has nothing to do with where I live.
 
Dec 10, 2005
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I'd still have to pay the same taxes anywhere else. In fact it's more expensive to live in the bigger cities. Taxes and cost of living as a whole are way too high these days for what we get, but that's a whole other issue. Has nothing to do with where I live.
Yes, taxes for the same exact property size and type might be higher in a city, but that's because it is worth more. But services per capita in urban areas actually cost less though than rural and suburban areas, so if you opt for downsizing, costs of living and taxes could be a lot less. You know, choices and consequences....
 
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Fenixgoon

Lifer
Jun 30, 2003
33,273
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At a cost to me. And what if I don't have money to replace it in first place and why should I be the one that has to deal with it anyway? The thief's life has zero value the minute he has intentions to take from me, damage my property, or do harm. If he does not want to die then don't steal! Choices have consequences.
What makes you so confident you would leave the encounter alive or otherwise unharmed?
 

NWRMidnight

Diamond Member
Jun 18, 2001
3,563
3,081
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At a cost to me. And what if I don't have money to replace it in first place and why should I be the one that has to deal with it anyway? The thief's life has zero value the minute he has intentions to take from me, damage my property, or do harm. If he does not want to die then don't steal! Choices have consequences.
So you believe you have the right to be the judge, jury, and executioner? So, your material objects mean more to you than a person's life, or YOUR life? What if you are wrong, what if you make the wrong judgement call and they aren't stealing from you, or the one who damaged your property, or what ever, as you believe? As for "what if I can't afford to replace it, or why should it cost me".. Are you that ignorant? It will cost you more defending your actions than it would to just replace the items you lost or where damaged. Money wise, time wise, etc. And if you made the wrong judgement call, you will end up in jail. Of course, it could be you are just talking big and tough, and really have zero clue how hard it is to actually take a person's life outside of a life or death situation. Not realizing the mental toll it will have on you, all over a tv or some other property. You are why there are laws preventing you from doing just that. To protect you from your own actions driven by anger, and ignorance.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
70,536
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126
www.anyf.ca
What makes you so confident you would leave the encounter alive or otherwise unharmed?

It's not a guarantee, but at least we should have the right to do what we can to protect what we work hard for when police can't be there. And if everyone else has that right, it's a matter of time until a thief steals from the wrong store or house and never does it again, that's fine. Right now thieves don't have to worry about getting in trouble with the law or with property owners, they can steal anything any time they want without any repercussions.
Yes it costs money to put people in jail, but that's what jails are for! To get bad people off the streets so that people can feel safe, it's part of why we pay taxes.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
70,536
13,787
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Yes, taxes for the same exact property size and type might be higher in a city, but that's because it is worth more. But services per capita in urban areas actually cost less though than rural and suburban areas, so if you opt for downsizing, costs of living and taxes could be a lot less. You know, choices and consequences....

You seem to have a weird obsession with the idea that everyone should live in a big city as you always hint at that. No thanks to living in the middle of a crowded city on a postage stamp I don't even own. The tax difference is not even that significant. You're also still paying the same income and sales tax, which is a large chunk of tax burden. Rent in big cities is going for like over 2k/mo now days for a single bedroom. Yeah nah. I'll own, and pay a $1,200 mortgage instead. We may have issues here but it's not better in big cities. If anything all the problems like theft stem from those places, it's just that it seems to be spreading to smaller cities like mine now. Was never this bad.

It's actually one of the reasons I bought rural land to eventually move to as even here is starting to have a big city feel with all the crime and such. As much as I think they are ripping us off on taxes I wouldn't trade this for big city living at all. The grass is not always greener on the other side. The rural property will actually be better. Property taxes are only $100/year, don't need permits or any of that BS to build stuff, and there is practically zero crime that far out. But as long as we don't have the right to defend what's ours, it's only a matter of time until the crime spreads further and further without stopping.
 
Dec 10, 2005
28,623
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You seem to have a weird obsession with the idea that everyone should live in a big city as you always hint at that. No thanks to living in the middle of a crowded city on a postage stamp I don't even own. The tax difference is not even that significant. You're also still paying the same income and sales tax, which is a large chunk of tax burden. Rent in big cities is going for like over 2k/mo now days for a single bedroom. Yeah nah. I'll own, and pay a $1,200 mortgage instead. We may have issues here but it's not better in big cities. If anything all the problems like theft stem from those places, it's just that it seems to be spreading to smaller cities like mine now. Was never this bad.

It's actually one of the reasons I bought rural land to eventually move to as even here is starting to have a big city feel with all the crime and such. As much as I think they are ripping us off on taxes I wouldn't trade this for big city living at all. The grass is not always greener on the other side. The rural property will actually be better. Property taxes are only $100/year, don't need permits or any of that BS to build stuff, and there is practically zero crime that far out. But as long as we don't have the right to defend what's ours, it's only a matter of time until the crime spreads further and further without stopping.
No, people can live as they choose. They just shouldn't whine so much when cities stop subsidizing their choices and property taxes go up as a result.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
70,536
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No, people can live as they choose. They just shouldn't whine so much when cities stop subsidizing their choices and property taxes go up as a result.

High taxes suck no matter where you live. Especially when there is nothing to show for it and they keep going up each year, again with nothing to show for it. But even big cities keep raising taxes so not sure what you're going on about. Toronto even taxes rain now, it's quite ridiculous.
 
Dec 10, 2005
28,623
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High taxes suck no matter where you live. Especially when there is nothing to show for it and they keep going up each year, again with nothing to show for it. But even big cities keep raising taxes so not sure what you're going on about. Toronto even taxes rain now, it's quite ridiculous.
Your brain is steeped in conservative propaganda. God forbid you have to pay for mitigation because storm water runoff from your property is a problem.

Meanwhile, I have fantastic access to jobs, amenities, and really anything needed for daily living, good public transit, access to tons of healthcare specialists as needed, airports, access to nature near and far... Don't need to live in high crime bumblefuck being afraid of urban ghosts. My taxes are just fine - not any higher or lower than other areas of MA. Plus, taxes are just part of the cost of living in society.

But you do you. Just pay for the lifestyle and services you want. If you want to be a deranged, off grid recluse, go for it.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
70,536
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Your brain is steeped in conservative propaganda. God forbid you have to pay for mitigation because storm water runoff from your property is a problem.

How can I control how much it rains on my property? Being punished for that is simply ridiculous. But liberals seem to love that sort of thing. Tax tax tax people who may have something nice, even if they already pay tax, tax them even more!

"Conservative propaganda" is simply wanting to be left alone, it's not very radical. Let me defend myself, let me defend my property, leave your hands out of my pockets etc. It's not really that complicated or even unreasonable of an ask.
 
Dec 10, 2005
28,623
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How can I control how much it rains on my property? Being punished for that is simply ridiculous. But liberals seem to love that sort of thing. Tax tax tax people who may have something nice, even if they already pay tax, tax them even more!

"Conservative propaganda" is simply wanting to be left alone, it's not very radical. Let me defend myself, let me defend my property, leave your hands out of my pockets etc. It's not really that complicated or even unreasonable of an ask.
It's about runoff. You can control how much impermeable surface you have.
 

MrSquished

Lifer
Jan 14, 2013
26,067
24,395
136
I resent that I have to share oxygen with people this fucking obtuse, dumb, and just plain shitty.
 

nakedfrog

No Lifer
Apr 3, 2001
62,727
18,886
136
At a cost to me. And what if I don't have money to replace it in first place and why should I be the one that has to deal with it anyway? The thief's life has zero value the minute he has intentions to take from me, damage my property, or do harm. If he does not want to die then don't steal! Choices have consequences.
I thought you were a Christian?
 

repoman0

Diamond Member
Jun 17, 2010
5,191
4,572
136
You seem to have a weird obsession with the idea that everyone should live in a big city as you always hint at that. No thanks to living in the middle of a crowded city on a postage stamp I don't even own. The tax difference is not even that significant. You're also still paying the same income and sales tax, which is a large chunk of tax burden. Rent in big cities is going for like over 2k/mo now days for a single bedroom. Yeah nah. I'll own, and pay a $1,200 mortgage instead. We may have issues here but it's not better in big cities. If anything all the problems like theft stem from those places, it's just that it seems to be spreading to smaller cities like mine now. Was never this bad.

It's actually one of the reasons I bought rural land to eventually move to as even here is starting to have a big city feel with all the crime and such. As much as I think they are ripping us off on taxes I wouldn't trade this for big city living at all. The grass is not always greener on the other side. The rural property will actually be better. Property taxes are only $100/year, don't need permits or any of that BS to build stuff, and there is practically zero crime that far out. But as long as we don't have the right to defend what's ours, it's only a matter of time until the crime spreads further and further without stopping.
Your town is apparently covered in used needles and crime ridden if were to take you at your word. Sounds like a real shithole — can assure you that life here in the “big city” is in fact better.
 
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mindless1

Diamond Member
Aug 11, 2001
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That's an Apple store. All those phones are absolutely worthless after he left with them and Apple isn't exactly short of money.
No one really lost anything, and no one gained anything. Why shoot someone to protect a fantastically small proportions of Apples profits?
Shoot because that's what it has come to, that existing deterrents aren't working. Keep in mind that shooting doesn't necessarily mean shoot-to-kill, which is more of a police mentality or if you were trapped and in fear of your life. Shoot to incapacitate is a thing, at least until the thug pulls a gun himself.
What's dumb is thinking you should be able to take the law into your own hands, and as a homeowner/business owner, putting materialistic objects above life is ok.

It could as easily be argued that the punk thief is the one putting his life at risk... for material objects.

Materialist objects are all your "property", including money. As all of that can be replaced. Life cannot. Life is the only thing worth protecting, materialistic objects are not, no matter what it is.

Disagree. There is QUALITY of life. If we let the world go to hell because of oversimplified concepts that don't pan out, things get worse. and worse. and worse. Then again, I never suggested shooting him except as a counter to your argument, but at the same time, I recognize that shoot-to-kill is largely a police event, while there is also shoot-to-incapacitate, and then if the punk pulls a gun in retaliation, see above, that the punk thief is the one putting his life at risk. I AM against shoot to kill for material objects, but also in favor of whatever escalated force is needed to get the job done.


ultimately your life and others, is what you risk every time you confront a thief, or who you presume is a thief, which can and will cause innocent people to get harmed.

Actually the root cause is the punk thief so you can't really spin this around and blame the victims. What causes more innocent people to be harmed? Not exercising sufficient deterrents to punk would-be thieves so they feel like they can get away with this kind of behavior, with *acceptable* risk.

Society has evolved away from your archaic way of thinking, even where laws permit it. History shows why that is so. You want to go backwards as a society, and ignore the actual cause of the rise in stealing and robberies. I already told you what the primary cause is, (social and economical injustice, that brings acts of desperation).

Archaic is thinking we should just let society go to hell in a hand basket and take pity on people who could have just gotten a jobby job. It sure looked like he had expensive sneakers on as well, if he's so hard up then why does he get to wear expensive designer clothing to go thieving?

#lifechoices

It's sad that you believe your tv, or anything else you own is worth someone's life, that someones stupid decisions, or acts of desperation should give you the right to harm them. There's a reason we have laws, law enforcement, judicial systems. History shows why it's bad for citizens to take the law into their own hands, and is littered with innocent people being injured or killed, as well as homeowners/business owners-employees being injured and killed.

Better that a few die to preserve a peaceful way of life for the vast majority, instead of promoting anarchy. Plus as previously stated, you want to ignore the root cause of the danger instead of establishing adequate deterrents.

In fact, history shows that police can't be everywhere and citizens are the primary deterrent for the average person contemplating criminal acts. It's only the few % of society with mental problems that are this brazen.

If as you contend, innocent people are being injured or killed, wouldn't that also be a reason to not hesitate for a moment, to immediately incapacitate the punk thieves before it can escalate past that?


So you know, I have been robbed 3 times in my life, equaling thasands if not tens of thousands of dollars in losses. I have also been jumped closing up business, in an attempt to get in and still shit. Fortunately I still had an employee there who literally saved my life, and no, me carrying a gun wouldn't have helped as I was blind sided by rock to the head that he continued to keep beating me in the head with. The employee didn't get involved to protect or save the materialistic objects inside the business, he did it to save my life. Fuck the shit inside. It can be replaced, my life or other can't be replaced.

Why do you think your assailant thought they could get away with what they were doing? Because the penalties were deemed worth the risk vs the reward. How do you change that equation? You can't reduce the reward except locking up everything and then there's still the human employee needing access to the cash. Refuse to take cash?

Otherwise the change to the equation is to make the penalty much harsher, which as I've already mentioned, doesn't necessarily mean shoot-to-kill rather than incapacitate.

Honestly, I think your "belief" of how it should be, and what the government can do "easily", is both very naive and ignorant.

You are pretending that all thieves are sane, moral people, which I can assure you that they are not. Some will rob you, then kill or at least assault you, the so-called innocent person who is not so innocent if he is facilitating robbers getting away with it, without sufficient deterrent to protect society.

Did you ever consider that if we just let thieves and robbers get away with it, that those 3 times you were robbed, might've been 300 instead? That there is a very good chance that you would have been harmed?

Ignorant is pretending that if you do nothing to stop the problem, that it won't get worse, not only for you, but other merchants, and as we've both conceded, putting innocent people at increased risk compared to reducing the instances of these crimes in the first place, through stronger deterrents.

At the same time, I feel it would degrade quality of life and would risk more innocent people if every citizen were armed and eager to shoot at a moment's notice. There is a balance to be met, and part of that is using whatever force is necessary to detain people who no longer care about right and wrong. There are not police in every store, on every street corner, in every neighborhood, so if not the citizens doing something, then who will? It is very naive to think that crime won't get worse, if citizens act like lambs.

On the other hand, if a burglar were in my home and my family was there, he's getting shot. Dead. No telling what he might do besides steal a widget or 3.
 
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Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
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Your town is apparently covered in used needles and crime ridden if were to take you at your word. Sounds like a real shithole — can assure you that life here in the “big city” is in fact better.

It is bad, and wasn't before, and it does need to be stopped along with all the theft etc. It's a growing issue and a whole topic on it's own. I've joked about running for mayor, but I think I would actually win and that's not really a job I want... but if I did, I would go with the motto Make Timmins Great Again. This used to be a great place but it's being taken over by all the riff raff.

But outside of those factors, quality of life in a small city is still better. Less pollution, more nature, can more easily own property, can live closer to work and not have a ridiculous long commute, etc. I also live in one of the nicer part of town, so only been broken into 3 times. Rural life is even better, as it usually means you're far from all that riff raff as well and can own even bigger land such as farm land, but unlike what most people think I'm not living rural. I'm in a subdivision which is fairly normal small city living. But do have rural property that I still have lot of work to put into before I can live on it.

But at the end of the day this theft and drug issue will continue to spread if nothing is done to stop it, and one of the things that can be done is to give property owners more rights to defend what's theirs.
 

Fenixgoon

Lifer
Jun 30, 2003
33,273
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136
Only been broken into 3 times ,wow sounds amazing.
I feel like this is one of those times where the solution is on-the-surface counterintuitive.

Instead of moving further out, squirrel needs to move closer to a city.

Much like the solution to traffic problems has been shown to actually reduce the number of lanes, not add more.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
70,536
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Serious question: what rights do you think they lack and what is your evidence for this belief?

Let's see, if you hurt anyone trying to steal, you get charged for assault. This needs to change. Give store owners the power to detain thieves at least, and home owners to do the same. It doesn't need to even result in death. Maybe knocked the fuck out though. Got to make sure they're no longer a threat.

Of course this is not a solution for breakins when nobody is there but they will think twice about that too, wondering if someone may in fact be there. Most of my break ins have been while I was home. One time was the car only, other time was the garage and they left the door wide open all night until I found it that way in the morning, and then the last time was a failed attempt as they couldn't get the door pins out of the door. Weirdly enough they never really took anything that I noticed, I think all times they got spooked and ran off before they had a chance. Any time I hear a noise I check outside so could be I just missed them. They don't all get spooked though, some will see you, give you the finger, and keep stealing. They know you can't do anything as they are highly protected. Could have been much worse. The downtown is MUCH worse. Break ins happen pretty much every night. But it's spreading more. My church got broken into a couple weeks ago and it's in a more secluded area. That's twice now in a couple years. My parents area used to also be very quiet and now it's gotten worse.

And this is a problem everywhere. Big cities are even worse, just look at NYC how they have to put bars and roll down cages over all the storefronts. In Toronto the mayor told people to leave their car keys in an easy to find place because car theft is so bad, and it will save the thieves trouble from rummaging through the whole house looking for the keys. It's gotten completely out of hand everywhere and part of the reason is because they're not putting these scumbags in jail where they belong and not allowing property owners to do anything if they catch them in the act.
 

akugami

Diamond Member
Feb 14, 2005
6,210
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Honestly, my immediate instinct when someone is stealing food is to have sympathy with the person who needs to steal food.

Having worked as management, and the defacto IT guy, at a supermarket, I can say that not all people who steal food are doing it because they are poor. Some steal because they want to steal. I will say that you can develop an eye for this, and can almost always tell at a glance who really needs it, and who doesn't. And that guy stealing boxes of frozen shrimp or packs of prime rib most definitely DOES NOT need to steal.

As far as the OP's video, this is at least a couple years old. As others have noted, Apple phones get tracked and are bricked when they leave the Apple store. They probably have some small value as a non-functional device used for parts only. Things like the touchscreen, device shell, etc. But it's functionally dead as an actual phone.

As for the mom & pops, I do commiserate with them, but at this point, they're effectively a dying business. Big corporation has taken over most industries at this point. There are fewer and fewer mom & pops every year. And even then, as someone whose father and brother has opened and operated mom & pop shops, theft is down the list of expenses. Theft may very well affect their bottom line, but things like taxes affect them on a way higher level. But magats think it's A-OK to give a billion dollar corporation a tax break, while the small folks get screwed in the ass. If magats really cared, then stop giving billionaires like Elon Musk tax breaks at the expense of small family owned businesses.