In that part of the world - the Inland Empire of California- theft of this sort has been endemic for years, although apparently not so much of public infrastructure. In the past, it particularly plagued construction sites. - thefts of tools, lumber and machinery were a near universal problem.
The by-line for the story which originated this thread was Bloomington, a suburb of Fontana, a place where there are bars on every window and where there are no sidewalks and no public sewer system. SR
-------------- Original message --------------
From: Wojtek Sokolowski <swsokolowski at yahoo.com>
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> >
>
> [WS:] It would be interesting to know if this is a
> "tip of an iceberg." Wide-spread stealing from
> mainstream institutions by ordinary citizens, and the
> growth of the informal or "underground" economy can
> ideed be an indicator of declining trust in- and
> legitimacy of- mainstream institutions. If it is
> something "homegrown" rather than "imported" - that is
> - people who used to be "law abiding citizens"
> increasingly turning to the undeground economy (as
> opposed to outsiders "importing" their old country
> customs) - that may indeed signify an erosion of the
> empire.
>
> Wojtek
>
>
>
>
>
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