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Bank robber: The economy made me do it

blogs.moneycentral.msn.com — The economy made him do it. That's the excuse an armed robber reportedly gave tellers at a Houston bank as he demanded they empty their cash drawers. According to an article in today's Houston Chronicle, the thief lamented that he couldn't find a job and needed to steal to put food on the table. "I'm only doing this to eat," the robber said

Who dugg this? Made popular Jul 15, 2009

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  • Feenix566, on 07/15/2009, -2/+35Congress uses the economy as an excuse to take money from people all the time. This guy should run for office.
  • adeelarshad82, on 07/14/2009, -3/+31course it did.....
    think "economy" forgot to mention that the people whose money you are stealing need it just as much as you IDIOT
  • sockpuppets, on 07/15/2009, -0/+20I crazy glue the seats of public toilets. Once I hear screaming I go in and take their wallets.
  • EdCenter, on 07/15/2009, -0/+14I used to work as a bank teller as a way to get by during my college years. I have known someone (in another branch of the same bank) who was robbed. People often forget that when banks are robbed, the robber isn't stealing from an ATM machine, they're threatening the life of a person making about $10/hr. Do you think the teller just forgets about it and goes on with her day like nothing happened?
  • Bukowsky, on 07/14/2009, -2/+15This actually happened a few miles from my office. Surprisingly, it's not really a ghetto part of Houston or anything.
  • Harvester1, on 07/15/2009, -0/+11I understand the need that's out there--my ministry has a small emergency food pantry--but I really wish people wouldn't use need as an excuse for wrong-doing. Most areas have help for people who need food, and there are people who will pay at least enough to buy some food to someone who's willing to give them a hand working at something they need help with. I notice this gentleman didn't try robbing the nearest Kroger of a loaf of bread which might have given more credence to his story. Be that as it may, people have to decide if they will handle adversity the right way or the wrong way.
  • MrSmith34, on 07/15/2009, -0/+11what I'm seeing is a ripple of change that crosses the bounds of culture & age demographics. A decline of morals & ethics; a culture of entitlement. Is it much different then people who default on loans; over spend on credit cards; skip out on car payments; over-leverage on securities; borrow against equity?
    It seems the masses have forgotten the difference between wants & needs; morality & ethics; blurring the lines of right & wrong.
  • AmnesiacJack, on 07/15/2009, -0/+11Look every one on digg knows the only way to get away with robbing the bank is to run or own the bank, maybe next time he'll hang around here more often.
  • Ghostalker, on 07/15/2009, -0/+8Silly robber, you need to work on Wall St to steal money from folks and not get in trouble.
  • AmnesiacJack, on 07/15/2009, -0/+8You two creep me the ***** out yet also give me a strange sense of hope.


    Dugg.
  • 8FoldPath, on 07/15/2009, -2/+9He used to work on Wall Street.
  • mtdna, on 07/15/2009, -0/+7What a loser. I don't make excuses when I rob a bank. Do you?
  • jtpinhead, on 07/15/2009, -0/+7you can also kidnap the owner and his family.
  • samard2002, on 07/15/2009, -1/+6I'm sure he took enough for just food then.
  • lilmentor3, on 07/15/2009, -1/+6as if crimes only happen in the "ghetto"
  • DRT23, on 07/15/2009, -0/+5AMERICA, ***** YEAH!

    ohwait.
  • superkendall, on 07/15/2009, -1/+5If he robbed the Kroger he wouldn't also get enough scratch to support his meth habit too.
  • turbosatan, on 07/15/2009, -0/+4***** the economy
  • falafelkiosken, on 07/15/2009, -0/+4yeah, I'm gonna rob some banks until the state give me someone else's money
  • scriptcoder, on 07/15/2009, -3/+7I can see the next comment now, it's inevitable on Digg:

    "It's not stealing from the people, it's just some faceless corporation! They don't even notice the difference!"
  • sockpuppets, on 07/15/2009, -2/+5No, hopefully he goes to a bar and uses it as a story to get some sympathy sex.
  • doubledmateo, on 07/15/2009, -1/+4What the hell is your problem? It seems like you're condoning bank robbery for a BS excuse. samards point would still be valid if you include rent utilities and gas (even though the thief didn't say anything about those things when trying to excuse himself) he wasn't just taking what he needed.
  • borez, on 07/15/2009, -1/+4Well he's only copying the bankers.
  • BlanKz, on 07/15/2009, -0/+3High five!
  • BillE3, on 07/15/2009, -0/+2The guy just wanted to be a victim instead of being the villain.
    Watching too much television.
  • samard2002, on 07/15/2009, -1/+3Two miles is a big distance in a city, *****. Manhattan is only two miles wide, yet there's a big difference between the west and east side.
  • andyb747, on 07/15/2009, -1/+3
    "I'm only doing this to eat"


    learn how to hunt... *****.
  • inactive, on 07/15/2009, -0/+2go to a credit union and quit ur bitchin
  • ep53, on 07/16/2009, -1/+3His reason IS potentially and probably genuine. Whether you find it justifiable or not is irrelevant and to judge him is irrational, you unlikely to be able to empathise with him or comprehend his feelings and circumstances with his and in fact he highlights the ugly reality of state models. Crime is largely a by product of financial oppression by the state. Theft is most definitely a direct by product of feeling incapacitated and inadequate to make the living you want and achieve the lifestyle you want through legitimate means because of socio economic factors that polarise the economy and make it appealing to those who struggle to make ends meet. Throw criminal practice by the Federal reserve into the mix and reckless money management, non free market interest rates and you don't expect a few crimes to result? Wake up.
  • PeterODactyl, on 07/15/2009, -0/+2Stealing to eat? Steal FOOD!
  • mlrigsby, on 07/15/2009, -0/+22-4-6-0-1?
  • DirtyVicar, on 07/16/2009, -0/+1Who are these "everyday people" who loaned money to the bank? Cry me a river. It's insured. The insurance pool spreads around the costs among all the banks. Though it doesn't excuse the crime, using the pool is a cost of doing business when you're in the banking industry.
  • Harvester1, on 07/15/2009, -0/+1I hate to digg up that piece of cynicism, but I have to: you're probably right.
  • inactive, on 07/15/2009, -0/+1Holy *****, you really did see the next comment. Dugg.
  • scandalicious, on 07/15/2009, -0/+1dude, hunt for food. come on. what a dick. i don't need to say this, but a bank is for everyone and the money that's in there is the people's moneys. douche.
  • allisonaxe, on 07/16/2009, -0/+1no, i'm just an adult who has been unemployed for a while (am not anymore as of this month, thankfully) and understand where feeling that desperate can lead to. I haven't had to stoop to levels such as that, but there were times when I felt like it, sure. the economy is making things rough right now for a lot of people. I'm fortunate that I don't have children to take care of, because, having been unable to be given the time of day from a potential employer, I might have gotten as desperate as the man in the story. the phrase "desperate times lead to desperate measures" plays a part of this mentality.
  • sockpuppets, on 07/15/2009, -0/+1Tyler Durden, is that you?
  • bmcnally, on 07/15/2009, -2/+3When the government does it, it's called "taxes".
  • atroxodisse, on 07/15/2009, -0/+1Yeah. He could have more easily accomplished that by getting on social assistance.
  • matthekc, on 07/16/2009, -0/+1I'm sure the army is hiring and with the wars winding down deployment will be less dangerous...

    I'm Former Navy, disliked all 5 years of it, would do it again in a heart beat if I had to.
  • Meocross, on 07/16/2009, -0/+1You either rob the ATM Machine or suck it up and go and hunt for food.. but that wont take care of the electrical bills doe o_O
  • hydrodev, on 07/15/2009, -0/+1What if its one of the banks that got "bailed out"?
  • inactive, on 07/16/2009, -0/+1wars winding down? - that's a good one
  • revenz, on 07/15/2009, -0/+1rise in crime, cant get a job? become a cop, seems like a growing business to me.
  • mobilebond, on 07/15/2009, -0/+1Good to here that people haven't lost their sense of humor :)
  • scriptcoder, on 07/16/2009, -0/+1It's rational to judge him. If he's hungry he can seek assistance and if he is still compelled to steal from another he could have taken bread instead of money.
  • Maddoktor2, on 07/15/2009, -1/+2Stay classy, Texas.
  • atroxodisse, on 07/15/2009, -0/+1Or a security consultant...
  • matthekc, on 07/16/2009, -0/+1Well okay the Iraq war is winding down but the Afghanistan war is likely to drag on.

    However neither of those wars is much more dangerous than being a police officer in a gang infested third world county with soviet made weapons. Wait that doesn't sound too good.

    Well it may still beat starving till driven to crime then being thrown into federal pound you in the ass prison.
  • 1fastdak, on 07/15/2009, -0/+1I would do this to feed my family as a last resort but im pretty sure I could get 99 cents by begging and go get a box of mac & cheese.
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