Economics students learn in their 101 classes that basic markets can’t function without a few prerequisites — namely, the protection of private property rights. It’s an introductory concept because it’s almost self-evident: How can people do business if they’re not secure in their property and profits? Yet the furthest-left faction of today’s Democratic Party, which governs in the most liberal bastions such as San Francisco, has abandoned even this most basic lesson. And, just as econ 101 predicted, stores are abandoning the California city in droves.
Just this week, the pharmacy chain Walgreens announced that it will close five of its stores in San Francisco, citing theft and retail crime as the main motivator behind its decision.
“Organized retail crime continues to be a challenge facing retailers across San Francisco, and we are not immune to that,” Walgreens spokesman Phil Caruso said. “Retail theft across our San Francisco stores has continued to increase in the past few months to five times our chain average. During this time, to help combat this issue, we increased our investments in security measures in stores across the city to 46 times our chain average in an effort to provide a safe environment.”
These aren’t the first stores in San Francisco that theft has forced Walgreens to shut down. In October 2020, it closed one location that was reportedly losing more than $1,000 a day due to shoplifting.