[Lamplighter]

NY Times

Dealing in Death, and Trying to Make a Living

LOS ANGELES — Body bags go for $20. Yellow crime scene tape is $6.
Toe tags are normally $5, but they were sold out this month.
The merchandise comes in a white plastic shopping bag that says
“Los Angeles County Department of Coroner.”

But it turns out that the shop’s slogan — “We’re dying for your business!” — is all too accurate.
The shop was once supposed to make enough money to pay for an anti-drunken-driving course
for teenagers that includes a visit to the morgue.

But a recent report from county auditors shows that it has not made a profit for years
and is actually subsidized by the very program it was meant to finance.