novelkee Chapter 2055
Chapter 2055
Chapter 2055
"Zero-dollar shopping" began in the United States in November 2021. It was the shopping carnival "Black Friday" and various stores were offering discounts and promotions. Suddenly, there was a phenomenon of only grabbing but not buying. At that time, many luxury stores in various states of the United States were attacked by masked robbers. Some even broke the glass of the store with crowbars and entered the store, looting the shelves, causing many stores to suffer huge losses. However, despite repeated investigations by the police, they failed to catch these participants, and the case could not be solved.
This is in Kai's original world.
In this world, it was even earlier.
It was already there in 08. There was no way around it. The United States in this world was more prosperous than the United States before Kai traveled through time. The peace gap was even greater, and the public security was also worse! The problems of the United States before Kai traveled through time in his previous life, the United States in this world has all of them, and they are still introducing new things.
After all, this world has supernatural powers.
So some things are more serious.
Therefore, it is not surprising that there are zero-yuan purchases... after all, the underlying logic has not changed!
To understand the origin of zero-dollar shopping, we must first understand the prison industry in the United States. The United States is a capitalist society where everything is driven by profit. Prisons are no exception. In the United States, prisons are a for-profit capitalist enterprise that extracts huge amounts of income from society by imprisoning criminals. The prison industry in the United States reached its peak in the late 20th century and early 21st century. The U.S. population was only 3 million, but there were more than 200 million people in prison, which is more than the number of prisoners currently serving sentences in China, which has a population of 14 billion.
The U.S. prison industry consumes tens of billions of dollars in public funds each year and has become an important part of the U.S. GDP.
However, the prosperity of the prison industry is based on the prosperity of the US economy. When the US economy encountered a crisis and financial difficulties, the cost of the prison industry became unbearable. The cost of prisons in the United States is very high. It costs more than $7.5 to detain a prisoner each year, and it costs $300 a day. All this money is paid by taxpayers. Moreover, American prisons have not effectively reformed criminals. Instead, they have become a hotbed of crime, leading to high recidivism rates and social unrest. Therefore, US states are eager to reduce prison costs, reduce the number of prisoners, and alleviate the problem of prison overcrowding. They have passed a series of laws and policies to reduce some minor crimes from felonies to misdemeanors, or directly not prosecute and sentence them, allowing these criminals to serve their sentences in the community or be released directly. When the prison gates opened, some criminals found a new opportunity: zero-dollar shopping. They found that as long as they did not rob goods worth more than $950, they would not be sent to prison. Moreover, if they could gather a large group of people and rush into the store together to rob goods, they would be less likely to be caught by the police.
In this way, they can get what they want for free without worrying about any consequences. This is the lure of zero-dollar shopping. Some criminals who buy for zero-dollars do so for survival, some for pleasure, some to vent, and some to protest. Some of them are unemployed vagrants, some are low-income people, some are marginalized people in society, and some are organized criminal groups. They use tools such as social media to connect, incite, and organize each other, forming a powerful destructive force.
Faced with such a rampant robber, were there no store employees who shouted at him to stop him? Yes, indeed, very few store employees stepped forward to stop him, and even the security guards did the same, and some even just stood by and took pictures quietly, and then calmly posted them on WeChat Moments.
Is it the indifference of human nature or the decline of morality?
In fact, neither is true, because the store clerks and security guards dare not.
In China, as long as it is a robbery, even if only one dollar is robbed, it constitutes robbery and the offender will be sentenced. However, US law stipulates that robbery below a certain amount is not considered a crime.
For example, California, USA. In 2014, California passed the famous Bill 47, which downgraded some felonies to misdemeanors. This includes the crime of stealing property worth less than $950, which was changed from a felony to a misdemeanor. Although there is only one word difference between a misdemeanor and a felony, the results are very different. Misdemeanors are sentenced to less than 1 year, while felonies are generally between 3 and 10 years. In 2021, California passed another bill, which stipulates that the use of force or intimidation to rob property from others, and the amount does not exceed $950, can be considered petty theft without the use of deadly weapons and causing serious bodily harm to others. According to these bills, whether it is stealing or robbing, as long as the amount does not exceed $950, it is only a misdemeanor, with a sentence of no more than one year, or a direct payment of a $1000 fine, or both. That is to say, if someone robs $950 and is not caught, nothing will happen. Even if they are caught, the conviction process will be complicated. Even if they are convicted, they will only be fined $1000. The cost of crime is too low. In addition, American courts encourage prisoners to sign a plea agreement before the trial. The result is similar to "surrendering", which means that the sentence can be lighter. In places like American supermarkets, $950 can buy, oh no, you can rob a lot of things, so the cost of crime for "zero-dollar shopping" is very low.
But there is more than one loophole in the US law. In the US, there is also a rule that if the robber does not step out of the door, it is not considered a robbery. In a sense, as long as the robber does not step out of the door, the clerk has no way to verify whether the robber will pay. Maybe people just like to use sacks to shop? Maybe people just like to be rough when packing things?
But if the clerk intervenes during this process, the robber can sue the clerk for defamation. "I haven't left the store yet, why do you think I won't pay?" "Are you discriminating against me? Are you looking down on me because I don't have money?"
First, if the store clerks and security guards step forward to stop the robbers, it is easy to get into a physical conflict, and the robbers are likely to get hurt, and then they will be bitten back, and the robbers can even sue them for personal injury, and the store clerks and security guards will pay huge compensation for this. This is the law in the United States, and it has to be said that this is somewhat similar to some aspects of China. For example, there is a famous "711 convenience store" case: in the United States, a thug made two consecutive 711-yuan purchases at a 0 convenience store, and was resisted by two store clerks. When trying to stop the thugs from robbing, the clerks beat the thugs, and the American police went to hold the clerks responsible.
Secondly, if the clerk or security guard is injured when he/she goes to stop the "zero-yuan purchase", the store owner must compensate them. Therefore, if the boss lets his/her clerk stop the "zero-yuan purchase", he/she may have to pay medical expenses and mental damages for no reason. Therefore, the boss can do nothing about the clerk and security guard who stand by and watch.
For the boss, being indifferent may be the least loss. However, the boss is not completely helpless. They will buy insurance! Yes, in the United States, bosses will buy insurance for their own stores. After all, there are too many "zero-dollar purchases". They buy insurance, and if there is a loss, the insurance company will pay! So, if you are the boss, what would you choose?
Since there are so many people who participate in "zero-dollar shopping" in the United States, and they usually do it in groups, it will be very time-consuming for the police to handle the case and catch people. Even if they spend a lot of time to catch them, the legal punishment is very light. In addition, American prisons are overcrowded. The government has to support and spend money on each prisoner who goes in. In recent years, the global economy has been sluggish and the government has little money. Even if they are really caught, with such a low cost of crime, they will continue to shop for zero dollars after they come out. They are caught and released, and the American police are tired. Therefore, when dealing with the "zero-dollar shopping" players who are caught, the law enforcement department also follows the principle of not going to jail if possible, and turns a blind eye. Therefore, the American police are less and less concerned about the criminal behavior of "zero-dollar shopping", which indirectly leads to the proliferation of zero-dollar shopping. Even some habitual offenders are known by store staff. When they shop for zero dollars, they are calm and composed like old customers, because they all know that there is no great significance in calling the police. The “zero-yuan purchase” contestants initially wore stockings or masks on their heads, but as time went on, they even became too lazy to cover their faces, and would even smile when they saw the camera.
Of course, the reasons for the rampant "zero-dollar shopping" today are far more than the above, there are many other reasons. For example, the global economic downturn has led to layoffs in various American companies, but Americans' consumption habits are to live in the present, with little savings. If they are unemployed for a period of time and fail to find a job, their houses and cars will be taken away by the bank, and they will directly become poor. The number of poor people is increasing, and they also have to live. In order to survive, more and more people will choose to take risks. For example, the party disputes in the United States, because these low-level people also have the right to vote, whichever party is more lax about this matter, then they will vote for that party, so in order to win votes, the American parties also turn a blind eye to such things.
For example, although white people and other races now also participate in "zero-dollar shopping", the original initiators of "zero-dollar shopping" and most of the current "zero-dollar shopping" players are black. If the police arrest them or have conflicts with them, they will easily be labeled as racial discrimination, so the government is not willing to let the police control them too strictly. If the ruling party is labeled as racial discrimination, votes will be lost.
For example, the US government is also quite philosophical. They know that these "zero-dollar purchase" players are from the bottom of society, most of whom have a hard time surviving, and usually only rob food and drink, and the total amount is not large. If there is no place for them to rob, no place for them to vent, and even the way for them to eat enough is cut off, then won't these people turn their attention to the government? Won't they cause bigger trouble? So, just sacrifice the interests of some people to preserve the overall situation.
So in summary, this is the main reason why zero-dollar purchases are so common in the United States. Even some large retail companies in the United States will specifically list zero-dollar purchase losses in their annual financial reports. . . They are used to it. . .
But... the premise is that no one dies!
Just like what the master said, "No one can die. How can we make money if people die?"
Damn Jiang Wen, this movie is enough for my lifetime, I must apply for it to be listed as a world heritage site!
Buying for zero yuan is no big deal.
But death is a big deal!
Therefore, people generally do not oppose zero-dollar purchases. Even if there is opposition, most people will just give up... It's simple, at worst, just go to the next store!
So people died in the Zero Dollar Shopping riots, and as reported in the previous news, the large-scale deaths are definitely not normal!
That's why Catherine and Kelly reacted so strongly.
They thought there was some conspiracy or something.
But when they flew over the city, they found that... things were not as they had imagined... the whole city was in chaos.
Countless people started smashing and looting on the streets. If you look closely at these people, you will find that there is something obviously wrong with their expressions and behaviors.
Their eyes were bloodshot, as if they were high, and they continued to vent the darkest and most intense emotions in their hearts. Not only were they looting and smashing, but many more unsightly things were also happening.
Kelly couldn't believe what she saw.
"Wait a minute... am I dazzled? Or is the Resident Evil series being rebooted? Such a huge investment?"
Kelly wasn't complaining at this time, but she couldn't believe it all... What was going on? It was early in the morning and she hadn't even brushed her teeth, but Chicago really became a battlefield?
"No... that series is completely rotten. It will take more than ten years for it to be rebooted. What's more... can't you smell it? There's blood everywhere! This is real, not a film set."
Whether it's a movie or a game, Resident Evil is a master at rehashing old stuff. However, the movies have been a flop recently, with the fifth and sixth installments both flopped. I guess no one will pay to rehash the old stuff anymore.
Kelly was dumbfounded, she was still thinking that all this was an illusion.
Of course, the most important thing was that everything in front of her made her not know what to do.
For example, there is an evil enemy invading now.
Then it's easy to do.
Beat up the enemy.
For example, this is a gang riot.
It's also very simple to do.
Beat up the gangsters.
But the residents of this city started to fight each other...what should we do?
She can't kill all the residents in the city, right?
"What should we do now?"
"Something's wrong. Nine out of ten things are wrong. Although the residents of Chicago are very irritable, it's not to this extent. Do you feel that there's something wrong with the whole city?"
Catherine looked closely.
"When you put it that way...it really seems a little off. I feel like the filter is a little heavy."
Girls, they know a lot about photo editing, filters and other things.
For example, if you show a photo to a non-professional straight man, he may not be able to see anything, but if you show it to a girl who hangs out in the friend circle, she will immediately tell you that there is definitely something wrong with this photo.
That's the filter.
He added a filter!
"I always feel like the world in my eyes is filtered through a red filter."
"That's right!" Catherine nodded decisively, "Someone did this! If we find the mastermind, everything will be settled!"
After saying that, Catherine immediately began to search in the city.
Kelly hurried to catch up.
In fact, at this time, it's not just Chicago.
Problems have begun to appear in major cities around the world.