Too Much Theft

Funny story, this.

 

I was working the other day when I gal came in to purchase a few quarts of oil. She inquired about the price of our various brands as the oil wasn't marked on the shelf. I apologized for the inconvenience, but explained that the oil prices change so rapidly that it's almost impossible to keep them accurately priced so we just quote as needed off the computer.

 

She gathered up what she needed and came to the counter to pay. While standing there, she remarked that the price of oil--and gasoline--had gotten way out of hand. She wondered what she was going to do, as she was a minimum-wage worker and wasn't sure how she was going to continue to afford going to work. She said she had to work about an hour and a half just to pay for the fuel she used to go to her job. I held a dollar bill up and, while showing it to her, said the problem wasn't that the oil or gasoline was so expensive, it was the money she was using to buy it with was worth less, i.e. it didn't buy as much as before. I then expressed my concern for her plight and left it at that.

 

Apparently, she didn't like my explanation and went into a tirade about how the oil companies were making so much money off selling oil and that it wasn't fare and the government should do something about it. Being of the mindset I am, I asked what she had in mind knowing what her answer was probably going to be. She replied that the government she put a price freeze in place, take the oil profits, and give those profits to the poor. Those that know me know that this woman's ignorant statement pretty much hit my go button dead-center.

 

I asked her if she felt alright with someone breaking into her house at night and taking her stuff. She responded with an emphatic NO! I then asked how she could be alright with taking the oil company's profits as it was the exact same thing: stealing. She countered that it wasn't stealing because they had too much money. To which I replied that it would be alright then for someone to steal from her what they felt she had too much of. She again said no. I then explained that it doesn't matter how much someone else has. If it isn't your property and you take it from them--either by doing the taking yourself or by using the force of government--it's still stealing.

 

She got a little huffy but couldn't respond with a counter argument. After a short pause, she finally replied that she felt they still had too much money. With that she turned and headed for the door. As she left, I hollered after her, "That's fine, but it's still their money... and it's still stealing!"

 

Amazing!