The State Has Declared that “Thou Shalt Not Steal”

The State Has Declared that “Thou Shalt Not Steal” Warrants More Redundant Codified Laws on the Books

By JBH Wonders, 05/2013

 

This article is commenting on the drive off stickers that are being posted by some proprietors that sell fuel for automobiles (actually alcohol laced gasoline, but that is another story). These stickers are placed on the fuel pumps in a very visible spot. It is usually a photo of a uniformed tax feeder (perhaps a model for the photo?) holding someone’s driver’s license in one hand and there is a message stating: “Steal this and we will take this” or something similar.. This campaign has been around for a few years now and I have commented on it in various forums in local newspapers. But since this campaign still exists to this date, I thought an update and blog entry would be prudent.

                

First of all, stealing anything is already unlawful by common law, state and local statutes/laws. The penalty is usually retribution to the one harmed and punishment doled out to the offender in various degrees by some authority.

I’ve read in a few newspapers that fuel station proprietors have stated that “(they) don't have that many drive offs..".  Some proprietors have even stated that some folks who drove off came back later to settle up the bill but the proprietor or workers there would rarely let the bill be settled and instead invoke police action (i.e. they called the cops).

So why subject your honest customers to that stoned faced cop in the photo ad demanding subservience in a somewhat threatening manner wearing a uniform and employed by the government? By the way, how many tax dollars went into the fabrication of those stickers? How many were printed out at the taxpayers' expense?

And why would a proprietor "..rarely let them come back and pay for the fuel."? Maybe the "drive off" was in a hurry because of an emergency or some other distraction. I'm sure that has been the case at least a few times. I believe that most people are honest. If that weren't so, our American society would be total chaos.

In addition to the sticker issue my point is this; the government can add this additional punishment of revoking a drivers license for stealing (“gasoline” in this case) but it seems to be just more government laws on top of existing laws. Unless I'm mistaken, complex laws tend to create a backlog of court cases, and cost more tax dollars. The only ones who make out are attorneys for the defendants who can afford them. Another point is that I feel anyone who has decided to steal gasoline or anything else for that matter will not be deterred by a sticker or other visual aids. The prevailing attitude may already be that they can get away with the theft.

So who requested this new law anyway? And who's idea was it to offend most of us with that sticker?