Retailers shouldn't pay for abandoned carts
Steve Desouza, a cashier at Trader Joe's in Hewlett, collects stray shopping carts recently. Credit: Sally Morrow
I was thrilled to see an article addressing the shopping cart eyesore that we are all forced to tolerate ["City targets shopping carts," News, Dec. 7]. Never in a million years did I think the solution would be to fine the retailers.
Taking something that doesn't belong to you is theft. Discarding it at the side of the road after it has served your purpose is just plain disgusting.
Most people can grasp the concept of right and wrong. If they can't, they should be punished, not the retailer who is providing a service by making the carts available.
If you have no other way to get your groceries home, have the decency to bring the cart back on your return trip. There was a time when people had a better grasp on what is proper behavior, as well as what is tolerable.
Michael Callahan
Glen Cove
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