Several popular television shows have helped make couponing ultra-popular. In fact, this past time has gone to the extreme, so far in fact that some people are breaking the law.

That is about as extreme as it gets.

The recent couponing craze has been a double-edged sword for the newspaper industry.

On the one hand, more customers are purchasing the newspaper to get coupons and more advertisers are taking advantage of this by inserting more sales fliers to promote their businesses.

The downside is that, like with many things in life, a few individuals essentially ruin it for everyone by abusing the system and stealing coupons either from newspapers they have not purchased or stealing the newspapers altogether.

This has been a big problem recently here in Lawrence County as a handful of thieves will steal newspapers from the sales boxes, off people’s front porches, out of their delivery tubes and from pretty much anywhere you can imagine.

These individuals can rationalize it all they want but the bottom line is this is theft, pure and simple.

Even in some instances when the newspapers or the publications are free, to take every single one of them still constitutes theft because that’s not the intent.

Understandably, our current economy is difficult for many families and saving a little money here and there is more important than ever. But to do so at the expense of others and with a blatant disregard for the law is selfish and irresponsible.

Many of the individuals stealing newspapers for the coupons would never think about walking into a grocery store and shoplifting a tube of toothpaste.

But stealing a coupon for that toothpaste is no different.

We are all for couponing and we try to urge as many advertisers as possible to insert coupons into The Tribune. We are happy to help provide this to our readers and consumers in Lawrence County.

But we hope people realize it is not worth breaking the law to save a few cents.

 

Michael Caldwell is publisher of The Tribune. To reach him, call (740) 532-1445 ext. 24 or by e-mail at mike.caldwell@irontontribune.com.