You seldom see a stray shopping cart in the better parts of town.  But they’re scattered all over our inner city, and it’s getting worse.  Yesterday,  I saw a couple with a cart absolutely loaded to the brim, navigating it across a busy street, far from the Dollar Store.  At first, I felt annoyed that someone was stealing a cart in broad daylight.  But then, I saw it from their point of view.  Obviously, they don’t own a car.  However, they’re no different from the rest of us.  They need to eat, and do laundry, and use all the products that are necessary to get us through life. The Bible says the poor will always be with us.  That’s especially true in our town, with a 26% poverty rate. And that’s why shopping carts litter the city.

It must be a calculated risk on the part of Dollar Stores and pharmacies..  Locating in an area of ramshackle dwellings takes some courage. I’m wondering if they have  trucks that scour the area , picking up carts from sidewalks and streets.  It would be nice to think a person would return a cart they’ve taken, but they probably don’t.

It’s actually illegal to steal shopping carts.  But would any cop stop a woman with two kids, wheeling a shopping cart down the sidewalk?  If arrested, they would probably say they were “borrowing” the cart.  And maybe, just maybe, they really do plan to return it.  Obviously, it’s not something you want in your kitchen.

It’s one of those problems that nobody knows how to solve.  We provide food banks for hungry people, and diapers for mothers who can’t afford them.  But how can we help the poor and disabled  in a city with limited public transportation?  I’ve seen people getting off the bus with loaded grocery bags, but they still have to get them from the bus stop to their homes.  Maybe that’s the next non-for-profit in the works.

We can erect beautiful out door sculptures, and build a spectacular new convention center. We might even get a flashy casino.  Meanwhile, shopping carts litter the city,  detracting from its appearance and image.