When you are a hammer...

When you are a hammer you see everything as a nail.

The East Alton Copper Gang apparantly stole about $7 million dollars worth of copper from their employer over a 3 year period.  At $3/pound that is about 2.3 million pounds of copper.

Even if your boss is in the copper business, that's a LOT of copper to move in a 3 year period without being noticed by some aspect of Management.

Politicians in St. Louis see an opportunity to "fix" such problems in the future with legislation. 

They would put the burden on scrap dealers to log sales info and pay only in check form.  You can bet that there will soon be "fees" imposed to pay for the Government-employed regulators that will be required to "oversee the process and help police look for criminal behavior".

If you have a regulation, you need regulators.  Regulators cost money, and to pay them you impose taxes or fees upon the business transaction you are regulating.  What it really translates to is higher costs to the scrap dealer, lower returns to scrap sellers, and a general burden that simply need not exist.

But like the patrol cop must write tickets to prove to his superiors that he is really working, so must Government "do" something to prove their worth to voters.

But Theft is already illegal.  The bad guys were caught without the pending new legislation.  They will go through the system and the matter resolved.

But, will argue the Government officials, we could have caught them sooner if only our wonderful legislation had been in effect.

When you are a hammer...

Where does due diligence and responsibility come into the picture for the employer?  Are the plants management and security controls so shabby that millions of pounds of bulk can be walked out under their noses?  Obviously so.  Must you & I suffer for their negligence?

Soon in St. Louis you will be forced to identify yourself and make a financial record of selling scrap metals.  

How long before Government decides to simply force that every transaction we make be recorded...you know, to help reduce crime...for the children.

The only way to have an honest Government is to remove the profit motive.

The thieves, crooks, and Masters will go to other professions, leaving us alone to do business with one another and shoot anyone stealing our copper.

Here's the story.

Kerodin
III