I just read an article from Houston Public Media which is a service of the University of Houston and am dumbfounded. It seems that the District Attorney of Dallas, Texas is proposing that his office will not prosecute some lower-level crimes. Sounds good, doesn't it?
In his opinion, it is not wrong to steal essential items that a poor person cannot afford. His limit for this is $750. That means, a person could steal more than a week's worth of food from the supermarket or small "Mom and Pop" grocery store and walk away without prosecution. It sounds very helpful for the poor person, but what about the store owner who works more than 8 hours a day, only to lose money to someone who just thinks it is his right to take whatever he wants as long as it is less than $750. How long will that store stay in business serving the community? How does that help the honest, hardworking members of that community when they have to travel distances to PURCHASE their food? Is that fair?
Wouldn't it be wiser to improve education and the community to encourage businesses, large and small, to move to those communities. The DA's opinion is that prosecuting poor people for stealing essential items wastes taxpayer money because they don't come out of prison any more financially stable than they were before they stole.
It would make more sense to teach prisoners a trade and how to handle money. It would also be sensible to provide rehabilitation for addicts so that when they are released, they are truly able to become respected members of society.
