* A wave of shoplifting crimes are attracting front-page news, while the $15bn stolen by corporations from workers receives no coverage at all.*

Of course, what drives the headlines is notoriety. A video of someone shoplifting is surprising, since we expect those thieves to try to avoid notice. Theft of workers' wages happens quietly. It is a very important problem, but it is not news.

People get arrested for stealing products from stores, but stealing wages requires a lawsuit. The lawsuit requires private funds, and no one will be arrested for the theft.

If bosses were arrested for stealing wages, they might stop. That is the kind of crime that punishment ought to deter effectively. So why don't we do that?

I suppose it is partly because business owners have more political power than workers. But also because businesses do this by making unfair rules and then enforcing them. To stop that requires a trial to judge the rules.

If some of these rules were standardized by law, it would be easier to arrest bosses for trying to impose illegal rules on workers.

Subcontracting work is popular partly because it allows the company or agency that pays for the work to avoid responsibility for the work. Cutting pay and speeding up the work are one common result; another is that the work is done badly and people have no recourse for it. I advocate laws to restrict subcontracting to a much lower level.