Free Everything Coming To A Store Near You!

[Dashinka 24,494]

11 hours ago, laylalex said:

That Indy article references this piece in the NY Times which is worth reading: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/21/us/san-francisco-shoplifting-epidemic.html

 

A very good article on SF crime rates is here in the Chronicle (paywall I'm afraid): https://www.sfchronicle.com/local/article/San-Francisco-s-crime-rates-shifted-16071268.php?converted=1

 

Interesting that larceny and theft is down in San Francisco from 2020 (year to date comparison). And 2020 was down from 2019. And 2019 was down from 2018. And 2018 was down from 2017, which is the first year they have public-facing data available.

https://www.sanfranciscopolice.org/stay-safe/crime-data/crime-dashboard

 

Graphic from that Chronicle article if you can't read it, pulling the same SFPD data in the dashboard:

 

So what does this mean? I mean, people think or feel shoplifting is increasing, but the data doesn't appear to bear that out. That doesn't mean that these incidents aren't happening, but this looks like some sloppy reporting if rates are going down and the NYT reporter is relying on what the SFPD are telling him without looking at whether those statements can be verified. Why are the police saying that shoplifting is on the rise when their own data doesn't reflect that? That's a valid question, I think. I am not defending the shoplifters at all, but what is the reason for the disconnect between the data and the statements made by the SFPD? 

 

So why are the stores closing?

[Nature Boy 2.0 8,370]

10 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

A man's wife was arrested for shoplifting, and she was hauled before the small-town judge.

"What did you steal?" asked the judge.

"A can of plums," the woman answered embarrassedly.

"How many plums were in the can?" asked the judge.

"Six," responded the woman.

"In this case," said the judge, "I sentence you to six days in jail -- one for each plum."

The woman's husband then urgently whispered, "Your Honor, she also stole a can of peas!"

A man and his nagging wife were on a holiday in Jerusalem. While they were there, the wife died.

 

The mortician told the man, “You can ship her home for $5,000 or you can bury her here in the Holy Land for only $150.”
The man thought about it for a minute, then decided he would have her shipped home.

The mortician asked the man, “Why would you spend $5,000 to ship your wife home when she could be buried here in Jerusalem for only $150?”.

The man replied, “Long ago a man died here, was buried here, and three days later he rose from the dead. I just can’t take that chance”.

 

 

[Neonred 3,562]

Shoplifting is a good thing.  It is a form of reparations.

[laylalex 7,284]

7 hours ago, Dashinka said:

So why are the stores closing?

Quote

Following a review of the real estate footprint in the United States, which review was also announced on the Company’s earnings call for the fiscal quarter ended May 31, 2019, the Company also plans to close approximately 200 locations in the United States.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1618921/000119312519214110/d786644d8k.htm

 

An article from 2019:

Quote

 

Walgreens had a similar round of closures in 2015 when another 200 stores were closed. In 2018, the chain's parent company, the Walgreens Boots Alliance, bought 1,932 Rite Aid locations. Since then, 631 of those locations have been closed and another 119 are expected to be shut down, according to CNBC.

"We’re undertaking a transformational cost management program to accelerate the ongoing transformation of our business, enable investments in key areas and to become a more efficient enterprise," said Cohn. "The planned closure approximately 200 stores in the U.S. are a part of that effort."

 

https://www.today.com/style/walgreens-will-close-another-200-stores-across-country-t160315

 

None of this excludes the possibility that certain stores are closing due to shoplifting of course, so that they underperform. But closures have been baked into the pie for at least 6 years now, and it makes sense that underperforming stores should be the first on the chopping block every year. 

 

There are a lot of factors to consider beyond just shoplifting, not least Amazon, Target, etc. I get all my prescriptions delivered now unless it's something I need to pick up immediately and I use a local pharmacist to do that after getting sick of poor service from the big guys. 

 

All I'm saying is that there is a bigger picture here. The points made by store workers are relevant, as are SEC filings and the difficulties of maintaining a brick and mortar presence in a retail environment where fewer people see the need to visit them. 

[LIBrty4all 3,749]

I guess a lot depends on which source one chooses to read and believe.  Here's a source that tells a completely different story as to crime rates in San Fran.  Also notice the meter which says the crime index is higher than 94.1% of all US cities.  

 

http://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-San-Francisco-California.html 

 

Parts of San Fran are still beautiful, but other area have become a cesspool of disgusting proportions.  

Edited May 29, 2021 by LIBrty4all

[Boiler 45,499]

'Miss Cynthia Nixon, you don't have a clue': Manager of CVS in NYC slammed by SATC star for locking up products instead of LETTING people shoplift says thieves are putting staff at risk and stealing is rampant

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9631449/Manager-CVS-slammed-SATC-star-locking-products-invites-visit.html

 

 

[LIBrty4all 3,749]

Must be false.  Crime is falling in SF.

[seekingthetruth 1,246]

This is from August 2020

 

 

[seekingthetruth 1,246]

This picture is from the following video

 

 

[laylalex 7,284]

Wait, now we're onto Seattle and New York to prove property crime is up in SF?

 

I know how bad homelessness in SF. It's one of the reasons why I didn't move across the Bay into my boyfriend's apartment when we got engaged. (That and the sweetheart rent deal I had in Berkeley -- by moving to me and keeping his rent subsidy from work, we were getting paid to live in that place.) 

 

Now I live in another city grappling with homelessness. I'm still too under the weather to type out much on this, but I have in the past. Our continuing issues with a homeless population that only seems to increase every year are rooted in a very complex calculus of poor decisions by both Democrats and Republicans, unchecked capitalism, zoning laws, benign neglect, malign neglect, lip service to veterans, other states and municipalities literally busing in their own homeless people, the demise of public mental health facilities, the war on drugs, NIMBYism, environmental regulations that favor the rich at the expense of the poor, and on and on. Balancing the dignity of homeless people as human beings with their own agency against the very real needs of the housed in the same communities to feel safe is hard. Hard decisions have to be made. Inaction leads to the hollowing out of a community, like we're seeing in SF and Venice, so that only the least and most remain. It's unsustainable. 

 

We don't give up on cities and say, sucks to be you, because cities remain the powerhouses of our economy. We are an urban nation now, like it or not, and it would be GREAT to hear some actual policy coming from a conservative perspective on how to deal with urban problems constructively. But the Republican party on a local level has abandoned so many of our major cities and aren't proposing radical or thoughtful or interesting plans beyond "cut taxes and regulations, ...., PROFIT" like they're Underpants Gnomes. 

 

We all need to give a little, on the right and left, when it comes to issues of homelessness. Hell, I'm a leftie and I am infuriated with the "advocates" in my community saying we should give over our parks and beaches to encampments. No! Those are my spaces too, and when they're filled, what then? Why is my need to be safe and enjoy my city less than a homeless person's need for shelter?

 

I'm not sufficiently familiar with all of the complexities of homelessness to say I know a way out of this mess. But I'm open to hearing cogent and thoughtful and difficult proposals from whatever corner they come from. 

[Boiler 45,499]

I seriously doubt anything can be done, far too many people have a vested interest and as Pelosi said put a D on a glass of water and people would vote for it. Any solution would need to be generational.

 

To be fair it is not just the obvious subjects, downtown Denver has the same deal.

 

From a practical perspective what seems to happen is people move.

[LIBrty4all 3,749]

3 hours ago, Boiler said:

I seriously doubt anything can be done, far too many people have a vested interest and as Pelosi said put a D on a glass of water and people would vote for it. Any solution would need to be generational.

 

To be fair it is not just the obvious subjects, downtown Denver has the same deal.

 

From a practical perspective what seems to happen is people move.

There is a reason why historically democrat-controlled are some of the worst cesspools in America.  Some people want to try and point the focus in other directions, but at the end of the day, it's the leadership and their policies that cause the mess.  

 

I moved, and am very thankful I did.  Second best thing I ever did in my lifetime.

[laylalex 7,284]

What are the suggestions for improving these problems though if there are failures in policy and leadership? We just are not hearing them from conservative voices. All I hear is "this is terrible and it's all the Democrats fault" and ZERO about how things could be done differently with practical solutions that yes, require spending. Complaining about things without offering an alternative is just that -- complaining.

[TBoneTX 45,288]

As a national exchange program, send the homeless to Honduras and El Salvador in acknowledgment of the recent influx from those places.

[seekingthetruth 1,246]

10 hours ago, laylalex said:

Our continuing issues with a homeless population that only seems to increase every year are rooted in a very complex calculus of poor decisions by both Democrats and Republicans, unchecked capitalism, zoning laws, benign neglect, malign neglect, lip service to veterans, other states and municipalities literally busing in their own homeless people, the demise of public mental health facilities, the war on drugs, NIMBYism, environmental regulations that favor the rich at the expense of the poor, and on and on.

You have a lot of spin in there that indicates you probably did not watch the videos. 

 

10 hours ago, laylalex said:

Wait, now we're onto Seattle and New York to prove property crime is up in SF?

Not sure where you got New York.  The videos were about SF and Seattle.  The graph is from the Seattle video and shows SF on top of Seattle for property crimes.  The Seattle video is long, but if you want a solution, skip to about 43:00 and they have a segment on Rhode Island, where they have programs that are working.

 

2 hours ago, laylalex said:

What are the suggestions for improving these problems though if there are failures in policy and leadership? We just are not hearing them from conservative voices. All I hear is "this is terrible and it's all the Democrats fault" and ZERO about how things could be done differently with practical solutions that yes, require spending. Complaining about things without offering an alternative is just that -- complaining.

You are not seeing the real issues.  First of all, stop calling it a homeless problem.  It is a drug problem.  The vast majority of these people have drug problems and are flocking to the cities that welcome them with ridiculous leftist policies.  Do anything you want and you will not be arrested and/or prosecuted.  Free needles.  Pee and poop anywhere.  Shoot up in public.  Throw up your tent anywhere.  Throw your trash everywhere.  Of course conservatives complain when they see formerly beautiful cities being flushed down the drain due to leftist policies.  However, these places are controlled by the left.

 

First thing you have to do is enforce the laws and arrest these people.  Put them in a facility for treatment.  Watch the video.  In RI, druggies who were arrested and treated thank the police for saving their lives.