On California Passing Proposition 36, a Statute that Finally Allows the Authorities to Buckle Down On Shoplifting by Making it a Felony for Repeat Offenders

  I don't think that they had much of a choice in that the problem has reached a critical mass. I mean, you've got these people just prancing into stores pilfering hundreds of dollars of merchandise knowing that jack consequences await them. Of course you also have numerous stores moving the hell out of these areas or staying put but putting pretty much every item under glass. Hurting the honest citizens, in other words. Just couldn't continue.