Ivor:

It is a given that trade in general involvesgetting something for price "x" and selling it for a bit more than that. The machinist spends an hour turning out a lathed wangle. He is paid $20 salary plus whatever the proportionate amounts for health care, insurance, building maintenance, and retirement benefits. Call it $30.

But his cost of living for that one hour is presumably only $25.

Several other workers have produced at the same time a dangle, a mingle and a rotary morgle which are attached to the wangle to make a semi-automated dorkus system. On the same terms, we now have spent $120 plus raw materials -- call it another $30 -- to make this dorkus. $150.

We add some shipping costs and incidentals and maybe we have a total cost of a delivered, perfect dorkus system of $170.

It is perfectly reasonable to sell that dorkus system to the retailer for $350, and see him charge a street price of $400-500. If he can slap a premiere label on it, which commands a price for intangible benefit, maybe even $1000.

This is the way the chain of self-interested and reasonable people work with each other. Each decision to buy and each price point is thought about, and is voluntary. Granted, this is over simplification of a very complex mesh.

At what point in this chain do you see theft occurring?

A