Our American sense of entitlement has reached a new high, bringing our retail behavior to a new low. As comprehensive bag bans have gone into effect, customers who can't be bothered to bring their own—and who refuse to buy a 5-cent paper bag or a more expensive permanent bag at the store—are simply walking out with the shopping baskets, presumably through the self-checkout.

Photo by Kevin Malik

USA Today reports that this is happening in both New Jersey and Delaware.

In Jersey:

"'[The baskets] are just disappearing,' said Louis Scaduto Jr., chief executive officer of Middletown-based Food Circus Super Markets, which owns four Super Foodtown stores in Monmouth County.

"'We are aware of random reports that grocers are experiencing the loss of these hand baskets to varying degrees,' said Linda Doherty, president and chief executive officer of the New Jersey Food Council, in a statement. 'We view this as a short unintended consequence of the new state law.'"

In Delaware:

"Kaitlyn DiFrancesco, a cashier and manager at the Acme in University Plaza near Christiana, said her store had so many baskets stolen that they were completely wiped out of their supply. 'We don't have any more,' she said. 'Actually, because of people stealing them, we aren't going to order more.'"

With any luck, these shoppers will return home to find their packages were stolen off of their porches while they were out shopping.