> It really is just for general populace who are too gullible to know better
I know you didn't mean it this way but this is an incredibly funny way of putting it. "The globalists don't want you to know this, but the shopping carts at Publix are free..."
There are also "shopping cart tokens" which you can put on your keychain, and as they are large enough to unlock the cart, but small enough to not get stuck, they can be directly pulled out, and you don't risk to break your key.
If it really was about stealing (taking and intentionally keeping), the 1€ or free plastic coin you can get at the counter wouldn't deter you at all.