> "I was going to pay later!" is not a defense for shoplifting, nor is it a defense for wage theft.

Apples and oranges. Shoplifting is a particular kind of theft - not paying someone's salary is not.

A shoplifter takes something from a shop. An employer that doesn't pay someone's salary does not take something from the employee - he refrains from giving.

Besides, work is not physical property. Most people on HN would object to pirating movies being called "theft" of intellectual property, but somehow it's alright to use the word when talking about not being paid one's salary.