• Lokoschade@feddit.org
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    15 days ago

    I bought a pair of boots from a lokal store, then I moved and the zipper broke. I bought the same pair from Amazon and send the broken pair back.

  • neidu3@sh.itjust.worksM
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    17 days ago

    Not a lifehack, just a reminder that legality is not an indicator of whether something is ethical

  • notsosure@sh.itjust.works
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    17 days ago

    I admit that rat poison is definitely unethical: it causes a horrible, painful death, the animal’s gets perforated and the poor animal gets internal bleeding. But is is one of the best ways to get rid of a rodent invasion.

      • Saprophyte@lemmy.world
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        16 days ago

        Technically you can just get used litter without odor control from someone who has a cat. Cat urine will keep rats away all on its own. Just give them a bag of dollar store litter and put the whole box where you need control. Works for months.

        Edit: we have chickens and rats have been an issue with getting into their feed. The chickens don’t care about the smell but the rats stay away.

    • EndlessNightmare@reddthat.com
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      17 days ago

      If you know that the rat poison you use causes a horrible death, why not do some research and pick a better formula or a different type of trap?

        • EndlessNightmare@reddthat.com
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          17 days ago

          Considering that I don’t see any reason for this to be the case, I’m not going to presume that without some supporting evidence.

          • otp@sh.itjust.works
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            17 days ago

            We have as much evidence for it being a horrible death as we have for it being one of the best ways to treat an invasion

            • EndlessNightmare@reddthat.com
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              17 days ago

              I disagree. The deaths can be directly observed and also allow for post-mortem examination. They are not some sort of hypothetical conjecture.

              It would also be patently ridiculous to suggest that poison is effective, but only the ones that cause painful death.

              Furthermore, presentation matters. OP presented it as “definitely” being a horrible death with details that would support this. Follow-up comment was straight-up presented as conjecture with nothing to support it. If they aren’t confident in their own point, then why should I be?

              My point stands. Nice try though.

  • Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world
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    17 days ago

    For the US: The Supreme Court has ruled that flashing your lights to alert other drivers of an upcoming speed trap is protected by your First Amendment rights.

    Flipping off a cop is also protected, but that’s less helpful to others.

      • empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        17 days ago

        Going 5 over the limit and feeding money to pigs via ticket revenues is not “dangerous driving”

        If someone’s doing 105 im not flashing them

        • flyby@lemmy.zip
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          17 days ago

          Going 35 vs going 30 on collision increases chances for pedestrians to die by up to two times btw

        • Korhaka@sopuli.xyz
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          17 days ago

          I guess it probably varies by location but 5 over the limit doesn’t usually result in anything either. It’s normally just people going significantly over that get fines.

          Also it’s a limit, not a target. Plenty of roads have a limit that is too high to actually drive at safely too.

          • 2piradians@lemmy.world
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            17 days ago

            Something tells me you’re one of those who parks it in the passing lane going at or below the speed limit.

              • Mobiuthuselah@mander.xyz
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                16 days ago

                You have a lot to tell drivers for someone who doesn’t drive. Consider that your perspective is heavily biased and likely inaccurate

                • Korhaka@sopuli.xyz
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                  16 days ago

                  Inaccurate? Its a fact that you are more likely to die or be seriously injured if a car hits you at a higher speed.

      • BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today
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        16 days ago

        You’re a disgusting law enforcement shill. Cops have too much money as it is. If they’ve got time to sit on the side of the road and steal from us, then they must have cleaned up ALL the crime in the city, so their services are no longer required. Go be a school crossing guard.

          • BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today
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            16 days ago

            And if my flashing lights slow down somebody, so they don’t get a ticket, then it’s a great outcome for everybody but the cops.

            Besides, nobody’s getting actively killed in my example, stop being so dramatic. I’m just flashing my lights in the neighborhood to alert my neighbor, and save him a ticket. That’s who I owe my loyalty to, not the cops.

            Obviously, if it’s the guy who is always speeding through the neighborhood, I’m going to let that guy blow on past the cop. They deserve each other.

            • Kobibi@sh.itjust.works
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              16 days ago

              stop being so dramatic

              disgusting law enforcement shill

              🙄🙄

              Don’t speed, don’t normalise speeding. Acab yes, but not because of speeding tickets lol

              • Mobiuthuselah@mander.xyz
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                16 days ago

                So maybe from your perspective, flash your lights when you think incoming traffic is going too fast?

                Keep in mind, what you’re seeing is the combined speed of yours and theirs

      • otp@sh.itjust.works
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        17 days ago

        I do get where you’re coming from, but there are a lot of roads where the speed limit is artificially low (or temporarily lowered for no legitimate reason) for the sole purpose of collecting income from speeding fines

        • nile_istic@lemmy.world
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          16 days ago

          This part. I live in a rural area near a city; lots of people commute into town, and the main road there is flat, wide, straight, not residential, not even any livestock near the road, just open fields. The limit is 35, and half the people I know have gotten at least one $375 ticket for doing 40. It’s literally just a cash grab designed to take money from poor people trying to get to work.

      • flyby@lemmy.zip
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        17 days ago

        Yeah such an American take lol

        In EU I would be glad that anyone going over speed limit is fined, even 1kmph, these rules are there so drivers don’t kill pedestrians. If someone is afraid to be fined for going 1kmph over limit, just slow down a bit

        • Korhaka@sopuli.xyz
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          16 days ago

          Especially when you keep in mind that the speedometer reads higher than your true speed, so if your true speed is over you were clearly speeding intentionally.

          Drive at 30 in a 20, end up killing a child with your massive SUV - which is another problem in its self…

      • GarboDog@lemmy.world
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        17 days ago

        US drivers do it regardless to help other drivers avoid getting unfair/unjust tickets. We’ve been ticketed 275$ going 1mph over the speed limit (it was down hill bruh) when we were 19 in the middle of no where Texas.

        Also we no longer drive because we were never supposed to drive and we hate doing it anywho

        • Mobiuthuselah@mander.xyz
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          16 days ago

          Also we no longer drive because we were never supposed to drive and we hate doing it anywho

          What do you mean? Do you live in NYC or something? I drive 4-6 hundred miles a week

  • mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    17 days ago

    Need a phone charger? Walk into any hotel, say you stayed here a while ago, and accidentally left your phone charger in your room. You’re finally back in town, and decided to swing by to see if they have a lost-and-found box. 99% of the time, they’ll just pull out a cardboard box full of chargers and let you pick one. No questions asked, no follow-up, no verification. They get left behind in hotel rooms all the time, so the hotel’s lost-and-found is almost always full of them.

    I used to freelance, and used this all the time when I was between gigs and just needed to chill for a few hours. If I had taken the train downtown and didn’t have my car charger, I’d just find whatever hotel was closest after my gig, and stop there. They’d let me grab a charger, and I’d pop over to a cafe to sit and watch TV/YouTube on my phone for a while. And then when it was time to leave for my next gig, I’d just leave the charger at the cafe for someone else to find later. I didn’t worry about keeping track of them, because I never intended to hold onto them in the first place. My car charging cable is from a hotel. My bedside charging cable is from a hotel. My desk charging cable is from a hotel. I haven’t actually purchased a USB-C cable in literal years.

    • Psythik@lemmy.world
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      17 days ago

      Yeah but how can you tell that you’re getting the right charger for your phone? No two chargers are the same; they have different wattage ratings and use different charging standards.

      If you grab any old charger without knowing the model number, it’ll charge your phone, sure, but not necessarily at its maximum possible charging speed unless you get lucky or take extra time to examine and research each charger until you find the right one. And I don’t know about you, but I’d feel awkward about pulling out my phone to Google random chargers while digging through a lost and found box with the employee just standing there. I rather just spend the money on a compatible charger designed for my phone’s charging standard.

      • Mobiuthuselah@mander.xyz
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        16 days ago

        Compatible isn’t what you think. Phones want to boast about how fast they charge, but that’s not really good for your battery. You may have a phone that does adaptive charging. It’s pulling way less than it advertises so that it can prevent depleting your battery capacity over time.

        If the plug fits, you’re fine. It will either charge slower, which helps protect your battery or it’s over what your phone requires, in which case your phone only pulls what it needs. You’ll be fine either way

      • mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        17 days ago

        Chargers have the wattage ratings printed directly on them. And the rating will simply be the maximum that the charger can provide. Wattage is pulled, not pushed. So if you plug your phone into an oversized charger, the phone will only draw what it needs.

        Just grab the highest wattage you see, and the phone will pull what it needs.

        • Cricket@lemmy.zip
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          16 days ago

          Caveat that this only applies to USB chargers. If you find some random non-USB, old-school type charger (like the ones with the round connectors) that fits your device, don’t plug it in until you’re sure that the voltage and polarity are correct.

    • Lemminary@lemmy.world
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      16 days ago

      I’ve tried this, and it doesn’t work. If you’re not average-looking enough, the receptionists will be suspicious of you and ask you to name your room number and who you were with. Just ask to borrow a charger in a pinch so you can get 5% battery or something.

    • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
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      16 days ago

      I tried this. The hotels attached the room and date on the lost item, so unless you’ve got those they aren’t going to give you anything if you can’t match them. Maybe some others don’t, so worth a try anyway?

  • hansolo@lemmy.today
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    17 days ago

    If you really want to piss people off, treat every individual with compassion and dignity. Even (especially) if they don’t treat themselves like that.

    Also, corporations are not people, my friend. So use the above to help guide your social engineering tactics.

    Not unethical or illegal, but avoiding a barrier, if you have a problem that a company won’t solve using regular customer service means, spend time to find their email formula (FnameLname or FLname or FnameL @company.com) do some online searching, and then email your unhelpful CSO person and start to CC senior people in the company “to bring this error to their attention.”

    If the unhelpful CSO person hasn’t messed up, then it’s no heat on them and their supervisor will just say “ugh, just get rid of this guy,” and solve your problem. I’ve used this method a dozen or so times, works well.

    • Landless2029@lemmy.world
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      17 days ago

      When I have an issue with a corp and have to talk to a human I start with an apology to that individual.

      “Hey I have an issue with X about Y, but I have nothing against you as a person. You’re just trying to do your job and probably deal with a ton of verbal abuse. I apologize in advance if I get upset or use crude language during this call. Be aware that I’m not upset at you I’m upset at the company policies.”

      • Lemminary@lemmy.world
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        16 days ago

        This works so well. I’ve been on the receiving end of that, and I wanted more than nothing more than to help resolve their issue. I felt acknowledged and validated, and wanted nothing but to return the favor. Do this.

      • stringere@sh.itjust.works
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        16 days ago

        Having been of both sides of this situation, this is excellent advice and will get you much better results on average because you get the CSR on your side and invested in a positive outcome almost every time.

        • Landless2029@lemmy.world
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          16 days ago

          Yeah nearly every time they end up on my side.

          My latest issue that didn’t help at all with with a Verizon call to a CSR in India. She was a human robot reading a script. Didn’t listen to me at all just following her prompts. An AI would’ve done a better job.

    • mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      17 days ago

      This is called the corporate carpet bomb. And yes, it is often very effective because the upper management doesn’t like being bugged by small things like this. So they’ll often acquiesce just to get you to go away. And it usually only takes one upper manager to bother. Even if nine of them ignore you, the tenth will tell their underlings “hey, what’s the problem here? Why am I being CC’ed? Just fix whatever it is so I can stop getting emails about it.”

      • stringere@sh.itjust.works
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        16 days ago

        Having worked corporate c-suite level escalations this is absolutely the case. It was fun dressing down directors and managers well above me because I had a mandate from above them to hold their feet to the fire and get shit done.

  • Whitebrow@lemmy.world
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    16 days ago

    Chocolate is toxic to coons and squirrels.

    Much more so if it’s left available for them near places you might not want them to be at.

  • TheAlbatross@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    17 days ago

    Every year, call your insurance/internet/phone/TV etc. provider and tell them one of their competitors gave you a lower quote and you want them to match it or come close.

    They will often give you a better rate just for asking. It’s easier if you do have an actual quote to compare it against but you don’t need one. Everything is made up. Just ask to pay less and threaten to stop paying them and they’ll often just give it to you.

    Even if they refuse, just say, “Okay. I need some time to think about whether or not I want to continue our relationship or switch.” Hang up and do nothing.

    • SaneMartigan@lemmy.world
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      17 days ago

      Tell your boss too. I told a boss that I’d been offered 25% more elsewhere which was enough for me to take it unless he wanted to match it, he did.

    • breadsmasher@lemmy.world
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      17 days ago

      USA centric.

      This is known as policy walking and has been banned in the UK by the FCA.

      (edit - specifically for insurance)

      • mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        17 days ago

        I’m downvoting specifically because you took the time to return to your comment and ping users with a mention, just to complain about downvotes.

        • breadsmasher@lemmy.world
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          17 days ago

          It was a question. I do not recall you at all. Why do you care enough to follow me around and downvote?

          what “dumb shit” have I said today? Would you like to correct me on UK insurance law? How did that “make you feel dumber”?

            • breadsmasher@lemmy.world
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              17 days ago

              I gave specific, UK advice, in a thread that isnt country specific, since the comment I replied to was defaulting to USA centric. Not sure why youre so upset about that? At least I clarified the exact country Im talking about, rather than assuming everyone is from the same place.

                • breadsmasher@lemmy.world
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                  17 days ago

                  Youre the one following me around arbitrarily downvoting.

                  I looked back at our last interaction. I actually said something positive. I was sincere about you enjoying starfield. Why is that “making you feel dumber”?

      • TheAlbatross@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        17 days ago

        Wait what??

        The consumer is barred from swapping providers annually to get better rates? Or are they barred from lying about fake quotes to get a better rate from their current provider?

        • Mark with a Z@suppo.fi
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          17 days ago

          To me the it sounds a bit more likely that they’re regulating insurance companies and not the customers.

        • breadsmasher@lemmy.world
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          17 days ago

          A new customer and a renewing customer should get the same price.

          If you go to an insurance company to get a quote, as a brand new customer or a renewal, the price should be the same.

          Historically, its to prevent companies giving lower prices for the first year and then raising it for the second year.

          Youre not allowed to increase the price just because its not a new customer.

          Its nothing to do with regulating the customer - its regulating how insurance companies price their products for new vs existing customers.

          I said policy walking, but price walking might be the more accurate term

          • TheAlbatross@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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            17 days ago

            Oooooooh that makes sense! Thanks for explaining. Yeah I wish we had legislation around it here, it’s stupid that I have to play games to get lower prices on things.

          • bamboo@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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            17 days ago

            Wish that were the case where I live. Still I’ve noticed that what they’re now doing is offering the same price to everyone, but then giving the option of free Netflix for 1 year as a sign up bonus or the equivalent credit towards your service for that year, which effectively is the same practice.

  • Torrent everything. If it’s legal for a company to cancel my subscription then torrenting isn’t unethical.

    Use the free tier if you are low-income. Privacy and security shouldn’t be for those with money.

      • Korhaka@sopuli.xyz
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        17 days ago

        Alternative option is not to pirate the books and instead read the public domain ones that are just free. Project Gutenberg is a good completely legit source of free books.

        If libraries didn’t already exist and you tried to make one now, you would be arrested and likely get pretty hefty sentencing for copyright infringement.

      • blargh513@sh.itjust.works
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        17 days ago

        Books are one of the few things I am more than willing to pay full price for.

        Sure the publishers eat a lot of the money, but the authors don’t do too badly.

        The very nature of a book (unless something is published as an e-book only) keeps it from being enshittfied like streaming audio and video services. If someone were to print an ad in the book, I could just rip it out and throw it away.

        Books are one of the last places where you just will not see an ad or be tracked, or have popups, and other irritating “features”.

        Books are good.

        • cdzero@lemmy.ml
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          17 days ago

          I’ve seen some children’s books with popups.

          Slightly more seriously though, I do have some books that have an advertisement for something else from the author or publisher.

          I feel like being I am pedantic on the points here so I will make a point of saying that I agree with the spirit of your comment.

  • Katrisia@lemmy.today
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    17 days ago

    Fake stupidity or ignorance, just a little. Otherwise, you risk getting people on their defensive sides (e.g., doctors, lawyers, architects).

    • blarth@thelemmy.club
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      16 days ago

      I learned way too late in life that no one likes a know it all. Pretending you don’t know stuff makes people more willing to help you.

      • WorldsDumbestMan@lemmy.today
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        16 days ago

        I gave up telling stuff to my co-workers. 90% of the time I’m actually dumb, so people now expect me to ALWAYS be wrong. So I made a habbit of just watching co-workers struggle when I know the solution.

  • someone@lemmy.today
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    17 days ago

    When shopping, I like to make it seem extremely likely I am stealing to help poor people who actually need to steal to survive.

    For example, when picking up a soda, I furtively look to my left and right to make sure no one is looking and crouch my head down. I pick up things and make it seem like I may be putting it in a pocket at times before putting it back. When security guards say hi, I don’t make eye contact or reply back and put my head down as if hiding.

    I never actually steal and haven’t ever shoplifted anything.

    I have been kicked out stores many times for abnormal behavior, but never while stealing.

      • Landless2029@lemmy.world
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        17 days ago

        If you ever see someone stealing food.
        No you didn’t.

        I’ve seen shoplifters stealing granola bars or chips before. Not said a word.

        Stealing electronics? Fuck that person.

        • NottaLottaOcelot@lemmy.ca
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          16 days ago

          My kids accidentally stopped a shoplifter. We stopped at a Walmart on a road trip to use the bathroom. As we were leaving, for some reason all three of them decided to tie their shoes in the vestibule, blocking most of the doorway. There was a very agitated lady behind them, and I tried to move my kids given that I was aware how obnoxious a place they had chosen for shoe tying — I assumed she just wanted to leave the store. But as she tried to get around them, she dropped a pile of phone charging cables and cases and was caught by a security guard chasing her

        • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
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          16 days ago

          The distinction you’re trying to make is stealing luxuries vs stealing necessities. Sure, we could argue basically “fuck megacorps” and that’s debatable to steal whatever, but this is about us.

          If someone’s stealing the basic necessities like food, nobody saw shit.

          If you’re stealing a TV, that just makes you a thief.

          • Landless2029@lemmy.world
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            16 days ago

            There’s also people stealing (even reselling) necessities like toothpaste, deodorant and laundry detergent.

            • Mobiuthuselah@mander.xyz
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              16 days ago

              They’ll likely steal in bulk if that’s the case. If they do it over time, snitching on everyone hurts the people why are stealing for necessity. Be the good for people. Kindly, compassionately, and in a non-derogatory way let them know where they can get food, essentials, and services for free. Don’t take their dignity.

          • cub Gucci@lemmy.today
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            16 days ago

            If you’re stealing a TV, that just makes you a thief.

            I can steal and sell TV and not be stealing food for the next two weeks or so. While stealing food is everyday effort

      • polysexualstick@lemmy.world
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        17 days ago

        Imagine if like 5% or so of people in a Grocery store acted like he does. Would be so much easier to actually steal something with security being busy all the time with the non-stealers

        • IronBird@lemmy.world
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          17 days ago

          i’v never seen security care about theft outside of the egregious electronics and stuff like that, those guys don’t get paid enough to care about slippage

          • someone@lemmy.today
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            16 days ago

            Do you live in an area with poor people and lots of shoplifting? Do you work in grocery store security surveillance? Do you work as a 711 clerk? Is this an area of expertise or are you just guessing?

  • Blackout@fedia.io
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    17 days ago

    If you are working as a contractor and make above a certain wage it can be worth it to setup your own LLC/S-corp. I did it one year at the advice of my CPA and it immediately knocked off 30% of my AGI. Lowered my pass thru income and tax liability. Saved me many thousands over 20 years. Its what every corporation in America does.

    • capital_sniff@lemmy.world
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      17 days ago

      What did you do just pay yourself in options and drive the stock price up with buy backs? I guess you could buy your competition and load them up with all of your debt while paying you and your friends bonuses.

      • howrar@lemmy.ca
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        17 days ago

        I’m pretty sure that doesn’t work for small corporations where no one else even knows you exist. The share value is likely just going to be the company’s net asset value.