Target, Home Depot, and other retailers announced last week that they are taking big hits to their profits because of double-digit increases in theft nationwide. That’s after hiking prices on consumers. When the guy next to you loads a bag with whatever merchandise isn’t locked up and walks out without paying, keep in mind that you’re paying for his stolen stuff. Stores are fleeing San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Portland, cities that soft-on-crime mayors and district attorneys have made into shoplifter’s paradises. Downtown San Francisco is slated to lose Nordstrom and Saks OFF 5TH. Anthropologie and Whole Foods have already fled. That means lost jobs and sales tax revenue, empty storefronts, and decay. What’s a city without stores?
