Okay, let's REALLY get to know each other. Of course it couldn't actually happen, but hypothetically if you could rob a bank and know that you wouldn't get caught, would you do it? Why or why not?
I have more than enough money so in my present financial condition I would say no but I do not know how I would feel if I was broke and had no money to feed my children if I had to ,so it’s more about the persons state of mind when the question is asked of them. It’s very easy to say no to this question until you are in someone else’s shoes
Interesting question. My first thought was which bank, there are many that have stolen much of their wealth from the population of the US. Would this be a chance to get even? A local bank, no definitely not. Even though all accounts are insured, so one is actually stealing from an insurance company, and many of them charge way to much and own much of a particular area or areas so they have assets.
Then what would you do with it? Is it enough that you could purchase your own congressmen and get your ideals put into law? Would you hire a hit squad to thin the herd of stupid out a little? Would you give it to candidates that would vote progressively?
Depends on how creative I could be. In reality I would spend so much time trying to figure out what to do with the money that it would actually be safe right where it is. I am basically honest and even though I could do something good with it, the people of the US have to learn that Conservatism and christianity, do not work , until they learn this we have a lot of work to do. This is going to take some time and effort and I do not have the time to fuck with it.
Very well reasoned, thank you. I would like to have said that I wouldn't do it either, but I'm not sure that I wouldn't so I thought it was most honest to say I would.
"no one, but no one would ever know"
How to murder your wife 1965
No, I wouldn't.
Because that would be wrong.
That's why I became a programmer, I'm too lazy to work and too scared to steal.
You've never stolen anything or done anything else that was "wrong"?
@LovinLarge No, unless the law breaks the law and digs under the endangered plants....
I daresay that many people would rob a bank if they knew that they would not be caught. They would begin by imagining all the luxuries that they could buy with the money and the lifestyle that they could afford. I am inclined to think that eventually it would lead to the ruin of many people.
Money determines my lifestyle and not the nature of my life. The degree of exuberance and openness determines the nature of my life. My happiness is not determined by what I own or what I can buy.
Have you ever been without 2 nickels to rub together?
@LovinLarge Yes, there was a time in my life when I had nowhere to live and no money. I have worked for ultra rich and I enjoyed everything that they owned and it did not cost me a dime.
My first thought is, that, at my age I could probably not find the time or energy to deal with a huge amount of money anyway, what the heck could I do with it ? Poor sad old bloke, with little interest in the obvious things that money can buy, like houses and cars, that I am.
But then I thought. Well you could always give it to charity, where it may do more good. You could even just put it back in a bank, but this time, into an ethical lending bank with a record for supporting good causes. But then the first bank would probably claim on its insurance, and the insurance companies would recoup the money they lost, by putting everyones premiums up. Which would hit the poorest and most vulnerable people who are finding it hard to pay their premiums most. So would there be a net gain in human wellbeing ?
And that is the problem with most crime, we all swim in the same economic pool, but who pays the most for crime and everything else as well, is always the poorest and most vulnerable because they are the main direct and the final producers of all the wealth. And it is they who have to pay as well for all the policing and security, and suffer most from the bureaucracy which are the indirect costs of crime and distrust. ( The bank decides that it must cut costs, so it closes some smaller branches. Then Mom and Pop, who are very frail and can't cope with doing everything on line, have to get on to a bus and pay for an extra half hour ride, just to go to the bank, every couple of weeks. Can you picture them ? Trying to save money by going to the shops at the same time, and she wants him to help her get the shopping cart up the step of the bus, but he is too frail to manage it, so she loses her temper, and the driver looks grumpy and only grudgingly helps out with a rude remark. And they can't even get a free bus pass anymore, because the banks who have clout demand extra policing, and welfare is easy to cut. )
Which is why the old excuse that many criminals give. "I only stole from the rich who can afford it." Does not really work.
So. No I would not.
I did this little exercise with my parents some time ago. My mother said no. My father said yes. I was always more like my father.
I would not do it for the very simple reason that it is not my money, and I would be impacting negatively on other people.
In the US, bank deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Pretty sure almost all bank deposits are insured which would limit the negative consequences of the bank robbery, were it performed here.
@LovinLarge The net impact would be the same, even if it was only the Insurance Corp's underwriters.
@anglophone An underwriter would write it off as a business loss whereas an individual could not. Banking is one of the most profitable industries in the US. I call this exercise leveling the playing field.
The second part of the exercise is considering who is likely more honest: the players who say they would decline the free money or those who admit they would partake? For me it would depend a lot on my circumstances at the time but I say yes because I just might participate if I was broke enough with enough debt.
No. I'm too lazy to commit a crime.
Same here. I couldn't be arsed.