Those restaurant stories are a bit scary dickie and ludwig.

Reminds me of the Abraham Lincoln quote - "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."

It would be a better world if some of these story's did not happen
But they do Dickie's mine and others take place still.
Those rolled over trucks often saw trucks hired to help in the theft of much of the load.
Standing along side one of our country's truly rich men, the owner of such a truck was informative.
Police lined up to be introduced to him [while filling every car and truck with his freight.
This down to earth bloke came to me after and spoke these words #get some for your blokes before those Fleas take it all# end quote.
he spent the next hour with a crew of workers telling story's about other stolen loads, some from around dead truck drivers.
It however remains true, a good cop is worth many times what we pay them.

Pelican,
Great quote.
It's now my 2nd favourite quote. I'm gonna pinch er borrow it from time to time. I hope you don't mind.

In colonial PNG I remember an actual event of a judge when faced with a native who pleaded “not guilty” to drinking alcohol (not drunk that was white man’s business) a crime at that time! 6wks-3mnths in pokey) and fearing the tedium of trial in which the outcome was, in his mind,ievitablely guilty told the police to “take him down and change his plea” which they did apparently with a few backhanders!
The issues there of multiple abuses of power, oppressive paternalism etc were staggering.

Add to that having been reasonably senior management from time to time I’ve seen the shenanigans of abuse of power at the corporate level.
When the SA bank crashed ($5 Billion then the biggest in Aust.)abuses like Hand made chockies for meetings at $30 each. An imported marble desk with bar fridge(allegedly worth 10’s of thousands…vanished).

Qld parliamentary cutlery, antiques worth $100’s vanished) $200k worth of table settings were returned from an ex MP’s country NSW home.

It is too easy to lose perspective and touch with that which is really important when one is able to ‘get away with it’. The justification are many and seem to focus on “deserving the perks”. Excuses like;
“I do an important job and I’m underpaid/under appreciated for it“
“I work harder than others” “others do it”
And the biggy “it doesn’t matter”. Each a self deluding lie.

It is never once and rarely stays at that level.
Lamentably I too was guilty of the occasional expense account fraud.
The occasional $30 hamburger, the bottle of wine with a client’s name while away. Ice creams for the children on the petrol account. Stationery etc.

Examinator
I am glad you like the quote. Feel free to use the quote whenever and wherever - it is not mine to give away. :)

Perhaps all of us have done things in our youth that we later regret. When I was a struggling student of the 70s/80s I worked for a business that grossly underpaid us in a time of high unemployment. We got paid cash in hand, no penalty rates and for well less than award wages. We did make enough to live on (just) but this was by working Saturdays and Sundays from about 9am until midnight in the summer (the shop was at the beach).

My friend and I used to work out how much we were owed and take the exact amount calculated as owed in the worth of goods from the business.

Typical youthful impulsiveness and sense of righteousness. We thought we were taking the law into our own hands and exacting our own justice if you like. Neither of us would ever 'steal' as such. Sometimes it is easy to make excuses for bad behaviour but in essence it was stealing.

Dear Pelican,

Your employer stole from you by paying sub-standard wages. You stole from your employer by taking his goods.

Possibly, your employer justified his substandard wages by assuming you would steal from him and that you would still steal even if you got your full entitlement.

You don't sound as though you would have stolen if you had been fairly paid.

Perhaps this calls for another string.

Good idea Davidf. I have started a new discussion "Is stealing ever justified? It may take a while to be approved.

To briefly respond - No I have never stolen in any other situation and abhor theft of property. And would never have thought of stealing had the employer paid reasonable wages.

The point was that we did not view it as stealing because to us, it was about correcting an injustice. But at the end of the day it was stealing - taking the law into your own hands and exacting your own justice. The employer was certainly stealing but so did we. One bad deed does not always justify another.

I was quite a politially motivated youth and this was my view of taking an active part in the solution of being underpaid. I should add that I was only 18 at the time with still a lot to learn.