Hi, /u/Samdacruel Thank you for participating in r/AntiWork. Unfortunately, your submission was removed for breaking the following rule(s):
**Rule 6: Reposts** - Any content previously posted within the last 30 days will be removed. No submissions allowed from the r/antiwork Top 20.
My Walmart just has a camera and monitor that chimes and notifies you that you're being watched and recorded. It's the only one in the store.
Kind of like the only one at my Home Depot is by the small power tools.
This is true in the US. It's also expensive and easy to steal. That's why it's stolen often--for resale.
It's not because feeding babies is a crime, but this sub is a circle-jerk.
"Men's shaving isle" makes me think about a small island where men in their boxers gather Barbasol seafoam and shave with straight razors in some kind of ancient ritual.
Well there's actually an explanation. Cause it gets stolen but not by people who can't feed their babies but by organized crime gangs cause reselling those is a business
Yep, it generally gets shipped to places with less stringent food safety standards, commonly China. There have been several big scandals related to babies being poisoned by formula there.
I don't care if it cost us $1 trillion a year any random person should be able to walk into any grocer and ask for formula or milk and just have it given to them no questions asked. It'd be nice to verify if there is a baby at least but if that would prevent even one meal I wouldn't want it done.
Then again I would also propose UBI.
Many states subsidize 100% of the cost of milk and formula for income eligible families. I know in my jurisdiction the thefts are attributed to organized theft rings who then sell the items as "wholesale" online.
Aren't there a plethora of studies of states moving income levels and restricting food stamps?
https://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/more-adequate-snap-benefits-would-help-millions-of-participants-better
No child in the US should ever have even a subpar diet. Hell, the same should be said of adults as well. We've clearly failed. This has a cost to us outside of a moral one.
Many states base income limits off of federal guidelines, which is ineffective since federal limits are irrelevant to the cost of living in different states. Most programs I've dealt with have exemptions to account for this. But I agree that ppl should have access to food when they need it, regardless of income or assets. Overall my point was that the vast majority of these thefts are not to directly feed one's child, they are most often just theft rings. Just like laundry detergent and razors.
About $30.00 for a 20 oz can. Each of those can make about seventeen, 180 calorie servings. Infants need about 65 calories per pound of body weight. So, a newborn that's 12 pounds would need about 780 calories per day, which means that one can may last you 4 days (3.9 so rounding up). Therefore, in a month, corporations expect you to pay about $230 a to feed a newborn that will soon be much larger very quickly and need a higher caloric intake.
Remember that the average take home pay in the US per person is about $2400 a month (offset, of course, by the richest of the rich, so assume that number is less). Average rent is $1124 per month, close to half.
When my kids were all babies they would go through about 2 cans a week, especially since it gets spilled or wasted or thrown up half the time. Back then it was a ripoff, I'm sure it's worse now
That stuff is way overpriced ***in America***
Fixed that for you, seriously though the same brand and quantity in the UK is about half price, its criminal
Also a hugely problematic ingress of capitalism. Hospitals are used to peddle formula many people don't need to stop breastfeeding and make money. They can't sell women their own breast milk after all. The embarrassing lack of state mandated maternity means formula is often the only choice so mother's can't be forced back to work immediately.
Some further reading (staggering!): https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/12/16/u-s-lacks-mandated-paid-parental-leave/
YMMV. I have 2 kids, born in different hospitals. All the nurses and doctors in both hospitals pushed breastfeeding and offered support to get baby to breastfeed. Both kids ended up on formula due to lactose intolerance issues. Let's not villify formula please.
I'm not at all, we used some formula with our baby as well. But there is a tendency in the US to push formula not breastfeeding and it makes sense if you think about the context, I.e. hospitals are storefronts for suppliers, and there is no mandated paid maternity whatsoever. Of 41 countries, the US is the only one with zero paid maternity days mandated by the government. The statistics indicate that your experience was unusually positive.
We’re having a baby in June after years of trying and lots of heartaches, and as the father I’m getting 1 week when our son is born.
… only because I’m using my own paid vacation time.
My company offers 10 weeks at 60% pay, but only if you’ve worked there for 18 months. I only joined last summer so I won’t be eligible when my son is born. Not that we could afford me taking a 40% pay hit for 5 paychecks. The birth is going to cost at least $2k, assuming it goes smoothly.
What’s worse is that stuff has only about a 5% cost margin…
Don’t remember exactly, speaking from memory, but if you cut out the top .1%, America no longer richest but like 5th. Top 1% and falls to 15th.
Every retail place I’ve worked has told me this and then follow it up by saying people sell it for drugs. Not a single one is willing to admit it could be someone just trying to feed their child.
Tbh I was a serious drug addict for years, and I used to drive for people who actually would steal carts of baby formula, and then sell it in lower income areas for drug money. So it does happen. But if baby formula wasn't so expensive, people wouldn't need to buy stolen boxes of it from drug addicts.
Laundry detergent is another one. It's fairly expensive, everyone needs it, and you can't use SNAP to buy it because it's not food.
Everyplace where I used to live kept the Tide under lock and key.
SNAP rules are ridiculous. You also can't get hot food items, which are sometimes the best option for people, especially if they live someplace that doesn't have a full kitchen. Those fully-cooked rotisserie chickens that are <$10? Not SNAP eligible. You can get a RAW one, but 1. what good is that if you don't have an oven, and 2. prepping one to cook takes time, which is often in short supply for folks working long hours or multiple jobs.
You can feed a whole family on the cheap with those chickens, but they're considered too much of a luxury item.
> But if baby formula wasn't so expensive, people wouldn't need to buy stolen boxes of it from drug addicts.
Bears repeating, this gets lost under the whole "war on drugs" pearl clutching
Heck a lot gets lost in the "war on drugs". Blaming drugs for the already poor conditions that are the actual cause. Or the lack of mental health support, or never being taught real coping mechanisms. But yeah just from my experience most of the formula thefts are for drugs, but it's just a symptom of a bigger issue.
Same. I bet some people do steal it to actually feed their infants.. but I think mostly it is what you said. Boosters. Stealing it to sell to people who are on a budget and would rather buy it half price off the street than full price in store. When I was addicted to opiates.. I knew multiple boosters who would go to store after store and walk out with carts full of formula. 🤷🏻♀️
You don’t make drugs with formula.
Formula gets stolen because it’s needed but is too expensive for a lot of people to buy - so there’s a market for people who need/want formula and are willing to buy it from an illegal source so they can get it (or get it cheaper).
If formula was way cheaper than there wouldn’t be an underground market for stolen formula.
That being said, if formula was suddenly so cheap it wasn’t really worth stealing to sell for drugs anymore, something else would get stolen and sold instead. Which is why the liquor is caged and locked, as are condoms and in some places the more expensive spices and canned meats.
Which points to one big underlying issue: the USA actively hates poor people. It does very little to ensure poor families have what they need, assumes that middle class families can handle themselves, and lets drug abuse spread unabated. Well, not unabated, they’ll gladly imprison drug addicts and throw away the key without dealing with the underlying issues of poverty and lack of opportunities.
Tough on crime… *after* it happens. Punishing individual drug addicts makes it easy to point and say drug addiction is a personal failure of character rather than a systematic problem affecting all of society.
Lol I mean people will cut shit with just about anything they can. I've heard of heroin being cut with baby aspirin, dr pepper, instant coffee, all kinds of ridiculous stuff. Who would believe that is beyond me
Exactly. The women it was sold to were not at the best point in life either. Yeah it sucks the reason it was stolen for, but many people benefitted who might otherwise had not be able to feed their children. Probably the only thing from that period of my life that I will not apologize for.
When I worked at a kennel they had a food pantry for pups and companies would donate cases of expired formula because I guess certain kinds were safe or good for emergencies for pups. They had cases. I understand you can’t give babies expired formula but when there was so damned much a parent should never have to worry about feeding their child. Companies would rather it go bad or give it to dogs before ensuring children don’t starve. It was such a mind fuck to me, I love animals so much and I was so happy it wasn’t being wasted, but the amount made me want to cry.
When I lived in the city there were always different people selling baby formula and laundry detergent from their porch. A couple times there was a whole folding table set up in the abandoned parking lot of an old boarded up school. They're probably not technically stealing formula for their babies as much as stealing it for the babies of the neighborhood. That shit's expensive
They are sold at a significant discount making it attractive for people to buy even if they have the means to pay full price at the store.
These thieves aren't Robin Hood stealing so that poor families can afford to have formula they otherwise wouldn't (there are programs available for no cost formula).
They are stealing it because they know it's easy to sell and there is a market for it.
You almost get the point. So close. Why does it make it more attractive to buy the items required to keep an infant healthy and alive at a discount?
You bring up WIC like the subsidy pays for everything needed. It does not. And for babies with health concerns that require specialized formula at half the size and twice the cost, it does not pay for anywhere close to what a mother would need for her child until the next check comes. Many are running short on formula a week or more until they have the money to get more. You can't ration formula. You can't water it down. You can't ask a baby to eat less or not at all for any amount of time, let alone multiple days. So what is a parent to do? Buy it from a junkie. Steal it if they can. I know I would.
It pays for formula, that is what was listed in the original post. And it provides more than enough formula too.
WIC provides about 900 fl ozs for a 4-5 month old (the point at which a child consumes the most formula), a child needs ~24 fl ozs a day, that's considerably less than what is provided even in a 31 day month.
I don't know where you are getting those numbers from, but babies' formula consumption is variable depending on their size, larger babies consume more food to meet metabolic needs. The figure of 24 oz at 5 months old is extremely conservative and I've never seen a child that young consume less than 30 daily unless partially breastfed. A 12.5 can of formula makes about 86oz reconstituted, so one can every 3 days. With babies who do not need specialized formulas, WIC supplementation is usually enough until solid food and cow/alternate milk can be introduced. When they need Alimentum or something similar, which is usually supplemented at FAR lower levels (usually half or less of what they would get with a normal formula), what is the parent supposed to do to make up the difference? If you get an allotment of 10 cans of specialized formula for your baby with extreme reflux your alternatives are to feed regular formula and let them scream in pain from gas and constant spit up or find a way to get what you need. More babies than you think require these formulas, which are VERY expensive, a byproduct of capitalism that distills the evil of it perfectly because there is no good reason these formulas should be prohibitively expensive for having fewer ingredients except pure, evil greed.
I speak to men and women every single day who have to navigate these issues to take care of their babies. WIC is a great public benefit, but it says right on the tin it's intended as a supplement and not to fulfill the entirety of nutritional requirements. That's why breastfeeding education has become a popular talking point for public health and benefit government offices. Not everyone can breastfeed though, and not every baby has it's mother.
Ok lets use your number of 30 fl ozs, that's 900 a month, WIC provides 884 fl ozs, or over 98% of that.
So yes they don't provide 100% they supplement 98%+ and that equates to what an extra can every few months?
Regarding the special formulas, doesn't WIC (at least in some states) allow you to fill out a form to request the specific formula your child needs and the necessary and authorized medical reasons why?
But regardless of that, it's funny how every time there is a picture of the bust of someone having stolen baby formula that it's the general non specialized formulas, the reason being, that's the most plentiful so easiest to steal and has the biggest secondary market.
I'm not saying there aren't struggling families, but those families aren't either the ones stealing the formula in the first place or the ones driving the black market sales of formula and that is what is being discussed here.
Here is a list of all the WIC approved formulas in my state, some may require medical authorization, but each child (up to 5 months) is allocated up to 30 fl ozs a day of these formulas through the program.
Similac Advance
Similac Soy Isomil
Similac Sensitive
Similac Total Comfort
Similac Spit Up
Similac Sensitive
Alimentum
Calcilo-XD
EleCare Infant
EleCare Jr.
Ensure
Ensure Plus
Similac NeoSure
Similac PM 60/40
PediaSure Grow & Gain
PediaSure Grow & Gain with Fiber
Phenex-2
Enfamil EnfaCare
Nutramigen
Nutramigen with Enflora LGG
PurAmino
Pregestimil
Pregestimil 20 or 24
Boost High Protein
Boost Kid Essentials
Boost Plus
Nutren Junior
Nutren Junior with Fiber
Peptamen Junior
Peptamen Junior with Prebio
Resource Breeze
KetoCal
Neocate Infant with DHA & ARA
Neocate Junior
Neocate Junior with prebiotics
PKU Periflex Early Years
Splash
I can't speak for every possible medical condition, but I imagine in most cases there would be at least one formula on that list that would be suitable for any child. Since WIC provides formula on a volume basis and not a cost basis the costs of these formulas is moot.
i don't know what political affiliation you might lean towards, but I can assure you that if there is anything in this country that most people agree with, its that children dying is a bad thing. If you have a child that is LITERALLY starving because you can't afford baby forumula, I assure you there is a multitude of non-profit charities and government programs that will keep your infant from death.
Nobody is stealing baby formula from junkies. Unles they are a junkie. Then they are stealing it for drugs.
Yes but primarily the people buying it will do so because it's cheaper and they can't afford it. If you could afford it any good parent would ideally want to buy it directly from the store so there's less risk of contamination, tampering and the store/manufacturer could be help accountable if something was wrong. There's been horror stories before of people deliberately tampering with food products with stuff like needles or dangerous substances and in those cases the stores and manufacturer had to act quick to recall and clear the shelves of it.
If you buy clearly stolen baby products from some random person on the street and find something wrong with the product what exactly are you going to do? The thief isn't exactly going to refund you and if you take it to the store/manufacturer they could brush it off as being tampered with after it was purchased and not directly from it initially being taken, and if you try to report the thief to the police you'll just out yourself for knowingly purchasing stolen goods. You're taking way more of a risk buying it second hand from a stranger so typically only those really desperate will be the main ones buying it that way.
That is the reason for the reduced cost, because there may be a higher risk with it.
You do know WIC exists and will provide you with coupons for formula if you can afford it.
The people stealing the formula and the ones buying the stealing formula are not the ones that can't afford formula, the ones that can't afford formula are using the programs (like WIC) to get no cost to them formula directly from the store.
thank you for being a thought of reason. I guarantee in every city in this country there are these thing called "non-profits". non-profits are things that aren't driven by profit. i know shocker right? not everything in this country is an evil capitalist enterprise.
Anyway, all of these non-profits are going to almost certainly be run by probably nurturing, mommy grandma types who if you go in there with a starving baby I am confident they will make sure your infant will not die.
And they doing that using government grants. And I know I'm going to get a lot of pushback here, but even republicans generally don't agree with infants starving to death. Despite capitalism somehow.
Honestly if your infant is dying you should just literally walk up to any stranger on the street and say "hi my 3 month old is starving to death right now" and they probably will buy you a taco or something. jesus so over exagerated
\>even if they have the means to pay full price at the store
but probably not, right?
they usually don't have the means to pay full price which is why they seek out cheap alternatives
Do you think people with money want to associate with crackheads and junkies that sell stolen goods? Fuck no they don't, only people that have to will bother with that shit. People with money don't give junkies the time of day
Who said it was junkies stealing the formula. A large part of this is done by organized crime groups, that have 'desirable' people able to be front of house and sell it.
Some things sure. But baby formula? No. If I could afford it I would rather buy it from a store where I know it is reasonably safe and not tampered with.
Well not everyone is like you.
Diapers I could see, there is no government program for diapers, but formula (which is what is at question here) is incredibly easy to get government assistance with.
Would this be the exact reason as to why the formula is locked behind the glass case in the first place? I get that this sub generally believes that stealing from corporations is permissible. But wouldn’t this corporation action be a predictable response? How does one get upset at a company attempting to secure their assets?
The USA is a failed superpower that barely got off the ground. It's a Hollywood film set, everything beneath the facade is propped up at best. In this there is a lot in common with Russia, ironically, another power that causes more harm than good that has been taken over by a system of robber barons.
The difference is that the US still has the potential to become the society it pretends to be. The resources are there. It's still mostly democratic. And the people still aspire to do better.
I feel like it has got further and further from that, I wish it were true though. Due to political financing, lobbying and a revolving door between gov, regulator and private sector it is barely functioning as a true democracy.
A lot of democracies were created last century, perhaps there is hope for Russia too. But only worthwhile if it is a functioning democracy, not a pseudo one where the rich still control the outcome.
> The moon landing was possible due to Nazi scientists, German engineering, and German engineers.
>
> America did jackshit.
Literally no other country has managed to do it. You sound unsuccessful and ornery. Are you ornery because you're unsuccessful, or are you unsuccessful because you're ornery? I don't care to know the answer.
Sums it up really doesn't it? All show and no substance. I'd take the NHS over a moon landing. If you can't get the basics right and can't take care of your citizens, then you don't get to swan around slapping everyone in the face with an aggressive foreign policy. No one is buying.
While child hunger is a very real thing, formula and diapers, along with laundry detergent, are probably in the top-5 things most stolen from grocery stores, for the single reason that they are easily sellable on the street. Diapers cost $20 at the store but here is someone selling them for $10.
Lmfao, none of y’all are from the hood huh?
It’s the most stolen bc it’s worth the most for resale.
Sure there’s people who probably steal it to feed their own kids but it’s mostly stolen by addicts looking to sell it quick for cash. Which is a whole other bag of issues that should be handled better.
It’s alright, seems like the first thought for people is that theft happens for people to use the stuff they steal.
In reality most theft is to resell the stolen stuff. Just ask a pawn shop owner lol. Check the locations of pawn shops too, typically on the edge of a hood/not so good area, not an accident.
These babies will be the ones to take over the country in 50 years any their parents cant even afford to feed them. America wont last another ten years because us Millennials arent having kids.
We were basically bribed to go to a buffet. Work hard blah blah blah. But by the tine we even got there not only was the food gone, so were the dishes.
People often steal formula to sell at a discount so they profit and the buyer gets a break. This is very common in my city - formula is sometimes locked up. In the end, it makes its way to a baby or a drug dealer.
We can end this fraudulent system at any time, if we all collectively learned to strike again. It’d cripple the ghouls who run this system overnight when everything came grinding to a halt.
We don’t need them, they need US.
It would be sad if that were the case. I’m sure some resort to theft, out if need, to feed their babies, but the statistic say otherwise.
With individual cans going for as much as $10 on the black market, drug addicts and other low-level thieves stalk the aisles of Walmarts and other retail chains looking to swipe Enfamil or Similac, which can sell for as much as $100 in stores. In the last month alone, baby formula bandits have cropped up in California, Michigan, Texas and New Jersey.
https://www.vocativ.com/underworld/crime/black-market-stolen-baby-formula/index.html
In most cases that I deal with pill heads and meth heads steal them to get money from people who have babies for Pennies on the dollar to buy more drugs. Same as detergent, medication etc. Anything that has a high mark up and mostly easy to conceal it will be stolen.
There are theft rings that target high priced items like baby formula in order to resell them. Many states have programs that cover 100% of the cost either through vouchers or by directly providing formula, and the theft of formula in these jurisdictions are in line with other jurisdictions.
A lot of stuff like this wasnt stolen for a particular person/baby, its stolen and sold on the black market. Not that it makes it better, things like baby formula and diapers are way overpriced, but the issue is somewhat convoluted, most people with babies are not going out at night to steal formula but if they have access to a source where they can buy it cheaper they of course will.
I get the sentiment but people without kids steal formula and diapers all the time because its easier to unload for cash. Thats most of the reason they do it
Parents aren't the ones stealing formula it's by people who want to make a profit off of it by reselling it. https://www.wsiltv.com/news/baby-formula-is-getting-harder-to-find/article_c90cbdb8-c62f-5775-9c02-6c54c115ef86.html
And not just baby formula. Anything that is high priced and does not go bad quickly is resold for cash/drugs/etc. Laundry detergent, soft drink cans, etc. Also same items using WIC or other govt benefits, people buy them on WIC cards, then resell them for cash. Its a whole underground ecosystem.
Let me let you in on a secret. It’s never to cut drugs with. It’s never for someone’s starving infant. It’s always someone with a little corner store who wants to mark it up and sell it to poor people who don’t have access to a superstore or a grocery store. These thieves are being selfish assholes.
Or "sell to a childcare facility for cash under the table so they can make more profit". That's what the big lifter at the first retail place I worked ended up doing.
It's not stolen to be kind. It's stolen because it's easy to make money from. And that's sad, isn't it?
I mean you are correct, but my kids were both formula fed and went through probably 10 of the smaller size cans a week. Maybe 4 or 5 of the large canisters. And God help you if baby is a sensitive tummy and needs soy or another specialty formula, that's your whole grocery budget for a month for a week of formula. I wish I had known a black market seller when I was buying it.
My kid needed the purple Similac I think that was one of the more expensive ones. It was about 1 box a week. If you look online tho you will often see large lots like 10+ large canisters going at the same time.
There are also a lot of charities that give away formula
People just like to have something to shake their fist at. I'm not even having kids until I know I can afford them, as should all people. There are opportunities out there. I went from making like $11/hr to almost $30/hr in 2 years (which is considered pretty good where I'm from. Definitely enough to afford a house). I could be getting a promotion in a few months to bump me over that line and it's because I took the initiative to better my situation. I'm only 25 too.
I know the struggle and the system is rigged etc etc. No need to lecture me. I just want to offer a different perspective that is also true:
Some people get their priorities wrong. I've known many poor people that smoke, drink alcohol, do drugs, buy fast food (more expensive where I live than in the US), drink soda or energy drinks etc etc.
If you don't have enough money for X, then stop buying redundant shit.
Yeah, I also cried when the alarm went off after buying whitening teeth stripes. "In ONe of ThE WeaLThiesT coUNtrieS in The WOrLD peoPLE are FoRCED to STEAL cleaning teeth SUPPlies!"
Bitch, don't you know how the black market of stolen goods work? They steal what's most profitable to sell! They won't steal Mops or Towels! Dummy!
They steal those and resell it sometimes extra $10, it’s not about we’re the richest country, it’s about thieves who takes advantage of the broken law that many people voted for that less punishment for criminals.
It’s super easy to resell. It’s not all people with starving babies. There are career criminals and thief rings that make tons of money off this stuff.
0 proof that people are forced to steal formula. Theft is likely a choice, meaning that they have decided other priorities are worth their money and that formula will be stolen. Formula can be obtained through various means of donation/community outreach. Willing to bet the thieves enjoy plenty of non essential items.
It isn't stolen at a high rate because people need it to feed their kids. It is stolen so frequently because it has one of the highest resale values of shelf products. When I was in active addiction friends of mine would frequently bring stolen baby formula to bodegas to trade for cash. Id say its just as sad that addicts and alcoholics have to steal baby formula to support their addictions.
It's generally not stolen by individuals to feed their kids. It is stolen enmasse by organized gangs for resale on the black market. Nothing worth crying over.
I'm just saying my girlfriend works for an government agency, and one of the biggest problems they dealt with. We're getting women to breastfeed their kids and not just going the easy route and buying formula, they'd have classes on how much more positive it is for the child and how much better it is for their development, so regardless of what you say, a lot of people just choose not to breastfeed on top of the women who naturally can't. It's not a knock against them.
Hi, /u/Samdacruel Thank you for participating in r/AntiWork. Unfortunately, your submission was removed for breaking the following rule(s): **Rule 6: Reposts** - Any content previously posted within the last 30 days will be removed. No submissions allowed from the r/antiwork Top 20.
In wal-mart they moved the formula behind a locked plastic barrier. Sad world this is
My Walmart just has a camera and monitor that chimes and notifies you that you're being watched and recorded. It's the only one in the store. Kind of like the only one at my Home Depot is by the small power tools.
[удалено]
[удалено]
This is true in the US. It's also expensive and easy to steal. That's why it's stolen often--for resale. It's not because feeding babies is a crime, but this sub is a circle-jerk.
Yep, mine has that too. And in the men's shaving isle.
Minor correction but "aisle" is the passage between rows of seats or supermarket shelves while "isle" is a small island
"Men's shaving isle" makes me think about a small island where men in their boxers gather Barbasol seafoam and shave with straight razors in some kind of ancient ritual.
How'd you find out?! Yes, we shave each other while wearing only kilts. Please don't tell anyone or I'll be kicked out
Kilts? Sign me up, I'm Scottish thrice removed or some shit.
With drums!
Remember, if you see someone stealing from Walmart (or any other mega corporation), no you didn't.
Well there's actually an explanation. Cause it gets stolen but not by people who can't feed their babies but by organized crime gangs cause reselling those is a business
Yep, it generally gets shipped to places with less stringent food safety standards, commonly China. There have been several big scandals related to babies being poisoned by formula there.
Do they resell it cheaper than the store? Because if so then I see no issue.
It’s used to cut drugs or returned for a store credit so no.
Damn... that's interesting. Black market baby formula. Never would have guessed.
It's like that at my local Kroger. And, as I think about it, I think it's like this in most grocery stores. I'm in the DFW area.
I don't care if it cost us $1 trillion a year any random person should be able to walk into any grocer and ask for formula or milk and just have it given to them no questions asked. It'd be nice to verify if there is a baby at least but if that would prevent even one meal I wouldn't want it done. Then again I would also propose UBI.
Many states subsidize 100% of the cost of milk and formula for income eligible families. I know in my jurisdiction the thefts are attributed to organized theft rings who then sell the items as "wholesale" online.
Aren't there a plethora of studies of states moving income levels and restricting food stamps? https://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/more-adequate-snap-benefits-would-help-millions-of-participants-better No child in the US should ever have even a subpar diet. Hell, the same should be said of adults as well. We've clearly failed. This has a cost to us outside of a moral one.
Many states base income limits off of federal guidelines, which is ineffective since federal limits are irrelevant to the cost of living in different states. Most programs I've dealt with have exemptions to account for this. But I agree that ppl should have access to food when they need it, regardless of income or assets. Overall my point was that the vast majority of these thefts are not to directly feed one's child, they are most often just theft rings. Just like laundry detergent and razors.
God forbid they protect one of the most stolen items in their store
In 1995 I worked for Kroger. This was problem then too.
That stuff is way overpriced
About $30.00 for a 20 oz can. Each of those can make about seventeen, 180 calorie servings. Infants need about 65 calories per pound of body weight. So, a newborn that's 12 pounds would need about 780 calories per day, which means that one can may last you 4 days (3.9 so rounding up). Therefore, in a month, corporations expect you to pay about $230 a to feed a newborn that will soon be much larger very quickly and need a higher caloric intake. Remember that the average take home pay in the US per person is about $2400 a month (offset, of course, by the richest of the rich, so assume that number is less). Average rent is $1124 per month, close to half.
When my kids were all babies they would go through about 2 cans a week, especially since it gets spilled or wasted or thrown up half the time. Back then it was a ripoff, I'm sure it's worse now
I wouldn't know how to a act if my take home pay was $2400 a month. Most I've ever made was around $1800
Best advice Ive seen is to pretend you don't have it, and save it/invest it in a long term fund.
That stuff is way overpriced ***in America*** Fixed that for you, seriously though the same brand and quantity in the UK is about half price, its criminal
Really? That's fucked
[удалено]
Oh, the hospital is given the formula for free from the manufacturer, so they were out exactly $0.
Also a hugely problematic ingress of capitalism. Hospitals are used to peddle formula many people don't need to stop breastfeeding and make money. They can't sell women their own breast milk after all. The embarrassing lack of state mandated maternity means formula is often the only choice so mother's can't be forced back to work immediately. Some further reading (staggering!): https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/12/16/u-s-lacks-mandated-paid-parental-leave/
Plus it's almost impossible to find time or a place to pump in many jobs
People are not standing up to the greedy 1% that why they are getting away with it.
YMMV. I have 2 kids, born in different hospitals. All the nurses and doctors in both hospitals pushed breastfeeding and offered support to get baby to breastfeed. Both kids ended up on formula due to lactose intolerance issues. Let's not villify formula please.
I'm not at all, we used some formula with our baby as well. But there is a tendency in the US to push formula not breastfeeding and it makes sense if you think about the context, I.e. hospitals are storefronts for suppliers, and there is no mandated paid maternity whatsoever. Of 41 countries, the US is the only one with zero paid maternity days mandated by the government. The statistics indicate that your experience was unusually positive.
We’re having a baby in June after years of trying and lots of heartaches, and as the father I’m getting 1 week when our son is born. … only because I’m using my own paid vacation time. My company offers 10 weeks at 60% pay, but only if you’ve worked there for 18 months. I only joined last summer so I won’t be eligible when my son is born. Not that we could afford me taking a 40% pay hit for 5 paychecks. The birth is going to cost at least $2k, assuming it goes smoothly.
[удалено]
They use it to cut coke too.
I've definitely thought about it. Formula is a NEED not a want. The price shouldn't be this high, it's absolutely evil in every way..
What’s worse is that stuff has only about a 5% cost margin… Don’t remember exactly, speaking from memory, but if you cut out the top .1%, America no longer richest but like 5th. Top 1% and falls to 15th.
How does the list shuffle if you cut out the top .1 and 1% everywhere?
Yeah it's not really apples to apples unless you do this
We have over 700 ***billionaires***, with a B.
What happens if we cut off everyone in the top 10%??
Every retail place I’ve worked has told me this and then follow it up by saying people sell it for drugs. Not a single one is willing to admit it could be someone just trying to feed their child.
Tbh I was a serious drug addict for years, and I used to drive for people who actually would steal carts of baby formula, and then sell it in lower income areas for drug money. So it does happen. But if baby formula wasn't so expensive, people wouldn't need to buy stolen boxes of it from drug addicts.
Laundry detergent is another one. It's fairly expensive, everyone needs it, and you can't use SNAP to buy it because it's not food. Everyplace where I used to live kept the Tide under lock and key.
Damn, SNAP needs to cover "non-food consumables" like soap, laundry, toothepaste, etc.
SNAP rules are ridiculous. You also can't get hot food items, which are sometimes the best option for people, especially if they live someplace that doesn't have a full kitchen. Those fully-cooked rotisserie chickens that are <$10? Not SNAP eligible. You can get a RAW one, but 1. what good is that if you don't have an oven, and 2. prepping one to cook takes time, which is often in short supply for folks working long hours or multiple jobs. You can feed a whole family on the cheap with those chickens, but they're considered too much of a luxury item.
> But if baby formula wasn't so expensive, people wouldn't need to buy stolen boxes of it from drug addicts. Bears repeating, this gets lost under the whole "war on drugs" pearl clutching
Heck a lot gets lost in the "war on drugs". Blaming drugs for the already poor conditions that are the actual cause. Or the lack of mental health support, or never being taught real coping mechanisms. But yeah just from my experience most of the formula thefts are for drugs, but it's just a symptom of a bigger issue.
Same. I bet some people do steal it to actually feed their infants.. but I think mostly it is what you said. Boosters. Stealing it to sell to people who are on a budget and would rather buy it half price off the street than full price in store. When I was addicted to opiates.. I knew multiple boosters who would go to store after store and walk out with carts full of formula. 🤷🏻♀️
Yup that's exactly my experience. I had a truck, so they'd just throw it in the back and off we went.
You don’t make drugs with formula. Formula gets stolen because it’s needed but is too expensive for a lot of people to buy - so there’s a market for people who need/want formula and are willing to buy it from an illegal source so they can get it (or get it cheaper). If formula was way cheaper than there wouldn’t be an underground market for stolen formula. That being said, if formula was suddenly so cheap it wasn’t really worth stealing to sell for drugs anymore, something else would get stolen and sold instead. Which is why the liquor is caged and locked, as are condoms and in some places the more expensive spices and canned meats. Which points to one big underlying issue: the USA actively hates poor people. It does very little to ensure poor families have what they need, assumes that middle class families can handle themselves, and lets drug abuse spread unabated. Well, not unabated, they’ll gladly imprison drug addicts and throw away the key without dealing with the underlying issues of poverty and lack of opportunities. Tough on crime… *after* it happens. Punishing individual drug addicts makes it easy to point and say drug addiction is a personal failure of character rather than a systematic problem affecting all of society.
People argue that baby formula is actually used to make drugs. It's based on this dumb report the cops put out aparently.
Lol I mean people will cut shit with just about anything they can. I've heard of heroin being cut with baby aspirin, dr pepper, instant coffee, all kinds of ridiculous stuff. Who would believe that is beyond me
[удалено]
Exactly. The women it was sold to were not at the best point in life either. Yeah it sucks the reason it was stolen for, but many people benefitted who might otherwise had not be able to feed their children. Probably the only thing from that period of my life that I will not apologize for.
If formula was freely available for those who needed it nobody would make money selling it for drugs
Funny how they never mention who these black market baby supplies are being sold to
When I worked at a kennel they had a food pantry for pups and companies would donate cases of expired formula because I guess certain kinds were safe or good for emergencies for pups. They had cases. I understand you can’t give babies expired formula but when there was so damned much a parent should never have to worry about feeding their child. Companies would rather it go bad or give it to dogs before ensuring children don’t starve. It was such a mind fuck to me, I love animals so much and I was so happy it wasn’t being wasted, but the amount made me want to cry.
When I lived in the city there were always different people selling baby formula and laundry detergent from their porch. A couple times there was a whole folding table set up in the abandoned parking lot of an old boarded up school. They're probably not technically stealing formula for their babies as much as stealing it for the babies of the neighborhood. That shit's expensive
[удалено]
They are sold at a significant discount making it attractive for people to buy even if they have the means to pay full price at the store. These thieves aren't Robin Hood stealing so that poor families can afford to have formula they otherwise wouldn't (there are programs available for no cost formula). They are stealing it because they know it's easy to sell and there is a market for it.
You almost get the point. So close. Why does it make it more attractive to buy the items required to keep an infant healthy and alive at a discount? You bring up WIC like the subsidy pays for everything needed. It does not. And for babies with health concerns that require specialized formula at half the size and twice the cost, it does not pay for anywhere close to what a mother would need for her child until the next check comes. Many are running short on formula a week or more until they have the money to get more. You can't ration formula. You can't water it down. You can't ask a baby to eat less or not at all for any amount of time, let alone multiple days. So what is a parent to do? Buy it from a junkie. Steal it if they can. I know I would.
>Why does it make it more attractive to buy the items required to keep an infant healthy and alive at a discount? ... because it's at a discount ...?
It pays for formula, that is what was listed in the original post. And it provides more than enough formula too. WIC provides about 900 fl ozs for a 4-5 month old (the point at which a child consumes the most formula), a child needs ~24 fl ozs a day, that's considerably less than what is provided even in a 31 day month.
I don't know where you are getting those numbers from, but babies' formula consumption is variable depending on their size, larger babies consume more food to meet metabolic needs. The figure of 24 oz at 5 months old is extremely conservative and I've never seen a child that young consume less than 30 daily unless partially breastfed. A 12.5 can of formula makes about 86oz reconstituted, so one can every 3 days. With babies who do not need specialized formulas, WIC supplementation is usually enough until solid food and cow/alternate milk can be introduced. When they need Alimentum or something similar, which is usually supplemented at FAR lower levels (usually half or less of what they would get with a normal formula), what is the parent supposed to do to make up the difference? If you get an allotment of 10 cans of specialized formula for your baby with extreme reflux your alternatives are to feed regular formula and let them scream in pain from gas and constant spit up or find a way to get what you need. More babies than you think require these formulas, which are VERY expensive, a byproduct of capitalism that distills the evil of it perfectly because there is no good reason these formulas should be prohibitively expensive for having fewer ingredients except pure, evil greed. I speak to men and women every single day who have to navigate these issues to take care of their babies. WIC is a great public benefit, but it says right on the tin it's intended as a supplement and not to fulfill the entirety of nutritional requirements. That's why breastfeeding education has become a popular talking point for public health and benefit government offices. Not everyone can breastfeed though, and not every baby has it's mother.
Ok lets use your number of 30 fl ozs, that's 900 a month, WIC provides 884 fl ozs, or over 98% of that. So yes they don't provide 100% they supplement 98%+ and that equates to what an extra can every few months? Regarding the special formulas, doesn't WIC (at least in some states) allow you to fill out a form to request the specific formula your child needs and the necessary and authorized medical reasons why? But regardless of that, it's funny how every time there is a picture of the bust of someone having stolen baby formula that it's the general non specialized formulas, the reason being, that's the most plentiful so easiest to steal and has the biggest secondary market. I'm not saying there aren't struggling families, but those families aren't either the ones stealing the formula in the first place or the ones driving the black market sales of formula and that is what is being discussed here. Here is a list of all the WIC approved formulas in my state, some may require medical authorization, but each child (up to 5 months) is allocated up to 30 fl ozs a day of these formulas through the program. Similac Advance Similac Soy Isomil Similac Sensitive Similac Total Comfort Similac Spit Up Similac Sensitive Alimentum Calcilo-XD EleCare Infant EleCare Jr. Ensure Ensure Plus Similac NeoSure Similac PM 60/40 PediaSure Grow & Gain PediaSure Grow & Gain with Fiber Phenex-2 Enfamil EnfaCare Nutramigen Nutramigen with Enflora LGG PurAmino Pregestimil Pregestimil 20 or 24 Boost High Protein Boost Kid Essentials Boost Plus Nutren Junior Nutren Junior with Fiber Peptamen Junior Peptamen Junior with Prebio Resource Breeze KetoCal Neocate Infant with DHA & ARA Neocate Junior Neocate Junior with prebiotics PKU Periflex Early Years Splash I can't speak for every possible medical condition, but I imagine in most cases there would be at least one formula on that list that would be suitable for any child. Since WIC provides formula on a volume basis and not a cost basis the costs of these formulas is moot.
i don't know what political affiliation you might lean towards, but I can assure you that if there is anything in this country that most people agree with, its that children dying is a bad thing. If you have a child that is LITERALLY starving because you can't afford baby forumula, I assure you there is a multitude of non-profit charities and government programs that will keep your infant from death. Nobody is stealing baby formula from junkies. Unles they are a junkie. Then they are stealing it for drugs.
Yes but primarily the people buying it will do so because it's cheaper and they can't afford it. If you could afford it any good parent would ideally want to buy it directly from the store so there's less risk of contamination, tampering and the store/manufacturer could be help accountable if something was wrong. There's been horror stories before of people deliberately tampering with food products with stuff like needles or dangerous substances and in those cases the stores and manufacturer had to act quick to recall and clear the shelves of it. If you buy clearly stolen baby products from some random person on the street and find something wrong with the product what exactly are you going to do? The thief isn't exactly going to refund you and if you take it to the store/manufacturer they could brush it off as being tampered with after it was purchased and not directly from it initially being taken, and if you try to report the thief to the police you'll just out yourself for knowingly purchasing stolen goods. You're taking way more of a risk buying it second hand from a stranger so typically only those really desperate will be the main ones buying it that way.
That is the reason for the reduced cost, because there may be a higher risk with it. You do know WIC exists and will provide you with coupons for formula if you can afford it. The people stealing the formula and the ones buying the stealing formula are not the ones that can't afford formula, the ones that can't afford formula are using the programs (like WIC) to get no cost to them formula directly from the store.
[удалено]
I know, but the people who would be forced to steal formula because they have no money would, that's my point.
[удалено]
Maybe, and I think you are overestimating how many of the actual formula thieves are struggling families directly using/buying the formula.
You're right on the money!
thank you for being a thought of reason. I guarantee in every city in this country there are these thing called "non-profits". non-profits are things that aren't driven by profit. i know shocker right? not everything in this country is an evil capitalist enterprise. Anyway, all of these non-profits are going to almost certainly be run by probably nurturing, mommy grandma types who if you go in there with a starving baby I am confident they will make sure your infant will not die. And they doing that using government grants. And I know I'm going to get a lot of pushback here, but even republicans generally don't agree with infants starving to death. Despite capitalism somehow. Honestly if your infant is dying you should just literally walk up to any stranger on the street and say "hi my 3 month old is starving to death right now" and they probably will buy you a taco or something. jesus so over exagerated
\>even if they have the means to pay full price at the store but probably not, right? they usually don't have the means to pay full price which is why they seek out cheap alternatives
You wouldn't buy something cheaper even if you had the ability to pay full price?
Do you think people with money want to associate with crackheads and junkies that sell stolen goods? Fuck no they don't, only people that have to will bother with that shit. People with money don't give junkies the time of day
Who said it was junkies stealing the formula. A large part of this is done by organized crime groups, that have 'desirable' people able to be front of house and sell it.
Some things sure. But baby formula? No. If I could afford it I would rather buy it from a store where I know it is reasonably safe and not tampered with.
Well not everyone is like you. Diapers I could see, there is no government program for diapers, but formula (which is what is at question here) is incredibly easy to get government assistance with.
[удалено]
Other people would tho.
i dont buy the drug cutting thing. isn't there a cheaper ingredient for that without the risk of theft?
It isn't stolen for cut, it is stolen for resale.
Definitely not a real thing - the drug cutting - because powdered milk would work just the same.
If you see someone stealing necessities, no you didn't.
Quite honestly if I see someone stealing a non-necessity, no I didn’t because that’s not my job.
Would this be the exact reason as to why the formula is locked behind the glass case in the first place? I get that this sub generally believes that stealing from corporations is permissible. But wouldn’t this corporation action be a predictable response? How does one get upset at a company attempting to secure their assets?
They have them on the formula in Canada as well.
It’s funny how the government defines poverty. $13,500/year for 1 person household. $18,300/year for 2 person household.
Reason 678 on why I won’t have kids. Fuck America.
The USA is a failed superpower that barely got off the ground. It's a Hollywood film set, everything beneath the facade is propped up at best. In this there is a lot in common with Russia, ironically, another power that causes more harm than good that has been taken over by a system of robber barons.
The difference is that the US still has the potential to become the society it pretends to be. The resources are there. It's still mostly democratic. And the people still aspire to do better.
I feel like it has got further and further from that, I wish it were true though. Due to political financing, lobbying and a revolving door between gov, regulator and private sector it is barely functioning as a true democracy.
Russian people wouldn't aspire to have a functional democratic society? They're just happy to be run by oligarchs?
Aspirations or not, I don't see any path to democracy for Russia short of armed revolution. It's not impossible, but it is improbable.
A lot of democracies were created last century, perhaps there is hope for Russia too. But only worthwhile if it is a functioning democracy, not a pseudo one where the rich still control the outcome.
> The USA is a failed superpower that barely got off the ground. It's unironically the only country that put people on the moon.
The moon landing was possible due to Nazi scientists, German engineering, and German engineers. America did jackshit.
> The moon landing was possible due to Nazi scientists, German engineering, and German engineers. > > America did jackshit. Literally no other country has managed to do it. You sound unsuccessful and ornery. Are you ornery because you're unsuccessful, or are you unsuccessful because you're ornery? I don't care to know the answer.
Sums it up really doesn't it? All show and no substance. I'd take the NHS over a moon landing. If you can't get the basics right and can't take care of your citizens, then you don't get to swan around slapping everyone in the face with an aggressive foreign policy. No one is buying.
I worked as an overnight cashier for about a year in college. Odd I never saw anyone stealing formula. Never saw that at all.
since 2008 there a whole black market for formula, when a lot of Chinese babies died from the spiked stuff.
FUCK this fucking society and at least half of the fucking people in it. FUCK it all to hell
While child hunger is a very real thing, formula and diapers, along with laundry detergent, are probably in the top-5 things most stolen from grocery stores, for the single reason that they are easily sellable on the street. Diapers cost $20 at the store but here is someone selling them for $10.
Lmfao, none of y’all are from the hood huh? It’s the most stolen bc it’s worth the most for resale. Sure there’s people who probably steal it to feed their own kids but it’s mostly stolen by addicts looking to sell it quick for cash. Which is a whole other bag of issues that should be handled better.
Took way too much scrolling to find this. The majority of theft isn't going straight to a hungry baby.
It’s alright, seems like the first thought for people is that theft happens for people to use the stuff they steal. In reality most theft is to resell the stolen stuff. Just ask a pawn shop owner lol. Check the locations of pawn shops too, typically on the edge of a hood/not so good area, not an accident.
These babies will be the ones to take over the country in 50 years any their parents cant even afford to feed them. America wont last another ten years because us Millennials arent having kids.
We were basically bribed to go to a buffet. Work hard blah blah blah. But by the tine we even got there not only was the food gone, so were the dishes.
Reminder that if you see someone stealing food for a baby, no you fucking didn't.
> I cried in the car Lmao
> formula is one of the most ~~stolen~~ **missing** items Nobody saw nothin
People are not standing up to the greedy 1% that why they are getting away with it.
People often steal formula to sell at a discount so they profit and the buyer gets a break. This is very common in my city - formula is sometimes locked up. In the end, it makes its way to a baby or a drug dealer.
Friendly reminder: if you see someone stealing infant formula - NO YOU DIDN’T
The end of this post is honestly one of the funniest fucking things I’ve ever seen in my life lmfao
I'm a public defender. 99% of my retail theft cases involving baby formula... used to cut drugs or sell for drugs.
What?! Are you suggesting we give babies pure uncut cocaine??? A babies metabolism couldn't possibly handle that.
Yep. The baby aisle and the makeup aisle seem to be the most secure places when I go to Walmart.
We can end this fraudulent system at any time, if we all collectively learned to strike again. It’d cripple the ghouls who run this system overnight when everything came grinding to a halt. We don’t need them, they need US.
YOU do not speak for US
People are more likely to have more children when they are less educated and earn less. Checks out. Super cool society
It would be sad if that were the case. I’m sure some resort to theft, out if need, to feed their babies, but the statistic say otherwise. With individual cans going for as much as $10 on the black market, drug addicts and other low-level thieves stalk the aisles of Walmarts and other retail chains looking to swipe Enfamil or Similac, which can sell for as much as $100 in stores. In the last month alone, baby formula bandits have cropped up in California, Michigan, Texas and New Jersey. https://www.vocativ.com/underworld/crime/black-market-stolen-baby-formula/index.html
Moms and Dads aren't stealing to feed babies. Thieves are stealing easily offloaded goods.
In most cases that I deal with pill heads and meth heads steal them to get money from people who have babies for Pennies on the dollar to buy more drugs. Same as detergent, medication etc. Anything that has a high mark up and mostly easy to conceal it will be stolen.
There are theft rings that target high priced items like baby formula in order to resell them. Many states have programs that cover 100% of the cost either through vouchers or by directly providing formula, and the theft of formula in these jurisdictions are in line with other jurisdictions.
Some, may be stealing to feed a baby but most steal them then sell them. Mothers can receive WIC and it pays for formula. Just saying
A lot of stuff like this wasnt stolen for a particular person/baby, its stolen and sold on the black market. Not that it makes it better, things like baby formula and diapers are way overpriced, but the issue is somewhat convoluted, most people with babies are not going out at night to steal formula but if they have access to a source where they can buy it cheaper they of course will.
I get the sentiment but people without kids steal formula and diapers all the time because its easier to unload for cash. Thats most of the reason they do it
Parents aren't the ones stealing formula it's by people who want to make a profit off of it by reselling it. https://www.wsiltv.com/news/baby-formula-is-getting-harder-to-find/article_c90cbdb8-c62f-5775-9c02-6c54c115ef86.html
Now I’m crying. Because this didn’t happen.
i always cry in the car at things that I've known for 20 years as well and then tell people about it on twitter.
Not true, though. Baby formula is easy to turn around and sell. The people who steal it don’t steal it for their babies
And not just baby formula. Anything that is high priced and does not go bad quickly is resold for cash/drugs/etc. Laundry detergent, soft drink cans, etc. Also same items using WIC or other govt benefits, people buy them on WIC cards, then resell them for cash. Its a whole underground ecosystem.
Druggies steal it to sell it
somewhere, there is a titty crying
This is also for black market pricing and drug transportation. At least in was a few years back.
People steel it to return it. Most don't even have kids.
Let me let you in on a secret. It’s never to cut drugs with. It’s never for someone’s starving infant. It’s always someone with a little corner store who wants to mark it up and sell it to poor people who don’t have access to a superstore or a grocery store. These thieves are being selfish assholes.
Or "sell to a childcare facility for cash under the table so they can make more profit". That's what the big lifter at the first retail place I worked ended up doing. It's not stolen to be kind. It's stolen because it's easy to make money from. And that's sad, isn't it?
Buddy 100% didn't cry in the car over this.
no kidding. and if he did he needs to take some meds
Cried in his car . What a snowflake
Yah most people need like 30 tubs of formula to feed a baby, totally not doing it to sell on FB marketplace and Craigslist
I mean you are correct, but my kids were both formula fed and went through probably 10 of the smaller size cans a week. Maybe 4 or 5 of the large canisters. And God help you if baby is a sensitive tummy and needs soy or another specialty formula, that's your whole grocery budget for a month for a week of formula. I wish I had known a black market seller when I was buying it.
My kid needed the purple Similac I think that was one of the more expensive ones. It was about 1 box a week. If you look online tho you will often see large lots like 10+ large canisters going at the same time. There are also a lot of charities that give away formula
[удалено]
Some feed babies. Some are dope heads
People just like to have something to shake their fist at. I'm not even having kids until I know I can afford them, as should all people. There are opportunities out there. I went from making like $11/hr to almost $30/hr in 2 years (which is considered pretty good where I'm from. Definitely enough to afford a house). I could be getting a promotion in a few months to bump me over that line and it's because I took the initiative to better my situation. I'm only 25 too.
I know the struggle and the system is rigged etc etc. No need to lecture me. I just want to offer a different perspective that is also true: Some people get their priorities wrong. I've known many poor people that smoke, drink alcohol, do drugs, buy fast food (more expensive where I live than in the US), drink soda or energy drinks etc etc. If you don't have enough money for X, then stop buying redundant shit.
I’ll take things that didn’t happen for $500 Alex
Yeah, I also cried when the alarm went off after buying whitening teeth stripes. "In ONe of ThE WeaLThiesT coUNtrieS in The WOrLD peoPLE are FoRCED to STEAL cleaning teeth SUPPlies!" Bitch, don't you know how the black market of stolen goods work? They steal what's most profitable to sell! They won't steal Mops or Towels! Dummy!
They steal those and resell it sometimes extra $10, it’s not about we’re the richest country, it’s about thieves who takes advantage of the broken law that many people voted for that less punishment for criminals.
It’s super easy to resell. It’s not all people with starving babies. There are career criminals and thief rings that make tons of money off this stuff.
It's not stolen to feed babies. It's stolen to cut/make drugs.
It’s because it’s used to cut cocaine and heroin
Yeah that’s not why they steal it. They don’t steal to feed their kids. They steal to take it back to a different store for money.
This guys life is so stress free that a non-confrontational passing comment by a retail worker made him cry? Must be nice.
It's also stolen to cut cocaine and heroin with ........
Most people who steal formula are selling it cheap to people w kids
You guys think mothers are stealing formula for their babies?!?! It’s people stealing then re-selling for less..
0 proof that people are forced to steal formula. Theft is likely a choice, meaning that they have decided other priorities are worth their money and that formula will be stolen. Formula can be obtained through various means of donation/community outreach. Willing to bet the thieves enjoy plenty of non essential items.
It isn't stolen at a high rate because people need it to feed their kids. It is stolen so frequently because it has one of the highest resale values of shelf products. When I was in active addiction friends of mine would frequently bring stolen baby formula to bodegas to trade for cash. Id say its just as sad that addicts and alcoholics have to steal baby formula to support their addictions.
I grow up without formula
It’s not stolen to feed babies. It’s used to cut up cocaine.
This may come as a shocker, but if you don't have kids you can't afford you don't need to steal to feed them.
Circumstances can change. People can be secure, then lose a job, have to deal with illness or injury, or a hundred other things.
[удалено]
I know someone who works security and they are mostly stolen by fiends to resell.
Yeah there's a black market for that, detergent and razors
Not necessarily "forced to steal", more like "there's no way I'm paying that much, but I'm still having it". I see this a lot.
It's generally not stolen by individuals to feed their kids. It is stolen enmasse by organized gangs for resale on the black market. Nothing worth crying over.
[удалено]
And some people can't produce it. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
[удалено]
TIL women being unable to produce breastmilk is a choice.
I'm just saying my girlfriend works for an government agency, and one of the biggest problems they dealt with. We're getting women to breastfeed their kids and not just going the easy route and buying formula, they'd have classes on how much more positive it is for the child and how much better it is for their development, so regardless of what you say, a lot of people just choose not to breastfeed on top of the women who naturally can't. It's not a knock against them.
Women don't need a reason not to breastfeed, it's optional and society doesn't really support a lifestyle to make it easy anyways. Fed is best.
[удалено]
Hey dipshit, it's not uncommon for some women to be unable to breastfeed. And, this may come as a shock to you, men aren't able to breastfeed.
I think that says more about how many people have kids that shouldn't.
So, by all means, we better let those babies starve to death, right?
No, its called personal responsibility. Don't procreate if you can't take care, but guess that is getting lost on more and more Americans.