The idea that organized retail theft is significant or "most" is a myth[1]
[1] https://www.brookings.edu/articles/retail-theft-in-us-cities...
The idea that organized retail theft is significant or "most" is a myth[1]
[1] https://www.brookings.edu/articles/retail-theft-in-us-cities...
Ah as long as Brookings Institute tells me it's a myth, I'll ignore the people selling basic toiletries right outside of drug stores, or bike messengers riding with suspicious taped up bikes that are poorly suited for heavy city use, or the videos of people coming in as a group, loading the bags and making off in get-away cars. Ignore what's in front of you, or the fact that nearly a third of shoplifting can be tracked down to ~300 people. These people maybe just have really big families to feed!
But you might ask why are stores closing? Why is deodorant behind lock and key?
> Finally, corporate claims are not holding up to scrutiny, and are being used to close stores that are essential assets for many communities.
Ah yes, evil corporations like to close stores and forgo profit for ... reasons.
Don't believe what's right in front of your eyes.
Nothing to see.
The Brookings institute is hardly a lefty rag - they're about as centrist/neoliberal capitalist as an institution comes.
> Ignore what's in front of you
Yes, the general advice is to look past specific notable anecdotes and try to identify actual data to validate whether your emotional experience of the world is reflective of the world or of you. In this case, the numbers suggest the problem is not the world, no matter how many videos you're seeing on TikTok or wherever.
A real problem for assessing truth in the modern world is that anything that happens anywhere is instantly available to you as a decontextualized short-form video, and it's your job as a responsible media consumer to understand that ten videos on your feed are not a trend outside your feed.
> Ah yes, evil corporations like to close stores and forgo profit for ... reasons.
No, they're not forgoing profits, they're choosing to close stores with lower levels of profits than they'd prefer and using retail theft as an excuse. It wouldn't be the first time and it sure won't be the last time that a business tries to deflect blame for its poor planning onto the rest of us.
Where does that ~300 people figure come from??