People can push the full cart 2 miles all around inside Costco but not an extra 30 feet to return an empty cart to a cart corral? There's no reason for it. It's one of the best indicators of narcissistic individuals - the other is treating restaurant servers poorly.
You mention Costco as an example and claim that the return is (on average?) 30 feet away from your vehicle? Did you mean meters? Either way quite an underestimation. At our local meglo market (owned by Kroger) there isn't a return for every parking aisle. The distance and exposure to traffic to use a return is quite variable and can be significant. My local store is large enough that they have a cart returner as a dedicated position.
The stores literally have people who are paid to collect the carts.
From the cart corrals. Do you leave trash on the ground because they have people paid to empty the trash cans?
I don't leave trash on the ground because littering is against the law.
Is the law the only thing that stops you from littering?
So you only do things if there is a specific law that compels you? There is no moral compass?
If laws were loosened up and littering was no longer punishable, would you begin littering? Is hypothetical legal recourse the main thing that would motivate you not to act in a certain way?
I'd love to see anyone get charged for literring in a fast food establishment.
“But you see, restaurant servers understand that a certain percentage of customers will treat them poorly, and yet they choose to work the job anyway. In effect, it is priced in to their wage. In fact, by treating them even worse, I may actually make their wage go up by increasing the wage demanded!” —some HN commenter, probably