I will admit that I sometimes steal candy/snacks from convenience stores for this exact reason. There is a very real thrill involved in getting away with something, and I've (mostly jokingly) considered going to SF just to steal things from convenience stores.

It really seems like a no brainer why this is happening more often. If, as a child, your parents said "we are no longer going to punish you for doing the thing that we told you not to do," wouldn't you start doing that thing more again? I get that wealth inequality is bad and I get that our criminal justice system can be horrific, but so many people seem to automatically assume that all this theft is only people stealing to feed/clothe/house themselves and/or their children. Has no one else ever just stolen stuff for the fun of it?