Thanks to the Democrats’ soft-on-crime policies, thieves now have more job security than store employees—one keeps stealing, the other gets laid off.
Yesterday, February 21, 2025, I went to my neighborhood dollar store in Essex, Baltimore, Maryland, to buy an envelope. But what I saw shocked me. The store looked almost empty, with many shelves bare and workers packing up merchandise into large cartons. Something was clearly wrong. At the checkout counter, I asked the cashier what was going on, and she told me, “We’re closing up for good.” That was the last thing I expected to hear.
Alarmed, I asked her why they were shutting down. She sighed and said, “Since 2023, groups of boys, grown men, and even some ladies have been coming in, filling their carts, and running out without paying. They do it almost every week.” The police were called many times. Some of these criminals were arrested, but they were let go within a year, either because they were juveniles or because of Maryland’s so-called “justice reform” laws that favor criminals over victims. “They just keep coming back,” she said. “It’s no longer worth it to stay open.”
And just like that, another business was gone.
This is not just one store’s story. It is the reality of businesses across America under the Democrats’ soft-on-crime policies. Stores are closing, workers are losing their jobs, and communities are being abandoned—all because the government refuses to do its job and punish criminals properly.
In Maryland alone, over 37 pharmacies shut down between 2023 and 2024, and one of the biggest reasons was rampant theft. In December 2024, a CVS in Bowie Plaza closed its doors, with company officials admitting that retail theft played a major role in the decision. If major corporations like CVS can’t even survive, what hope does a small dollar store have?
Retail theft in Maryland has reached insane levels. In 2022 alone, retailers lost over $1 billion to theft. And thanks to weak laws, criminals know they can get away with it. Maryland only considers theft a felony if it exceeds $1,500 in one location. That means criminals have figured out a loophole—steal just under that amount in multiple places, and the law treats it like a minor offense. No real consequences. No real deterrence.
State Senator Ron Watson is trying to change that by introducing a bill to combine theft totals across locations over 90 days. This would finally allow repeat offenders to be charged for what they really are—serial criminals. But will the Democratic-controlled legislature let it pass? Don’t hold your breath.
Meanwhile, Maryland’s retail workers are living in fear. As stores lock up their merchandise behind plexiglass to prevent theft, customers get frustrated and stop shopping there. This drives down sales, forcing stores to close. And the people who suffer most are the workers who lose their jobs and the communities left without access to essential goods.
All of this could be stopped tomorrow if politicians actually cared about law-abiding citizens instead of criminals. Instead, they act shocked when businesses close. They pretend it’s because of “changing shopping habits” or “corporate decisions.” They refuse to admit the truth: criminals are driving businesses into the ground.
This problem is not unique to Maryland. Across the country, major retailers like Walgreens, Target, and Walmart have shut down stores in crime-ridden cities like San Francisco, Chicago, and New York. In California, shoplifters casually walk out of stores with armfuls of stolen goods because they know they won’t be arrested. Even when they are, they’re quickly released and back on the streets.
Just look at San Francisco. Once a thriving commercial hub, it has become a national embarrassment. Major chains like Whole Foods, Nordstrom, and Old Navy have all fled the city, citing skyrocketing crime and rampant shoplifting. Walgreens alone has shut down at least 17 locations in the last three years, with one store reportedly losing $1,000 a day to theft. Employees described having to call the police multiple times a day, only for thieves to be let go within hours.
It’s the same story in Chicago. In 2023, Walmart closed four stores in the city, blaming “millions in losses” due to theft. In New York City, some grocery stores have resorted to hiring armed guards, while others have simply given up and left.
What happens when businesses shut down? Jobs disappear. Local economies collapse. Neighborhoods turn into ghost towns. And the people who relied on these businesses—the elderly, the disabled, the working poor—are left stranded.
Democrats say they care about working people, but their policies do nothing but destroy jobs. They let criminals terrorize businesses, refuse to enforce the law, and then act surprised when businesses flee. They claim to fight for the “little guy,” but they’re the ones making life harder for struggling small business owners.
The irony is almost laughable—except it’s not funny when it’s your neighborhood store that’s closing. It’s not funny when it’s your job that disappears. It’s not funny when you’re the one left paying the price for the government’s failure.
And let’s not forget about the impact on consumers. When retailers experience constant theft, they raise prices to cover their losses. That means law-abiding customers are forced to pay more while criminals keep walking away with free goods. It’s the ultimate slap in the face to hardworking Americans.
Big cities have already begun resembling lawless wastelands. Videos of mass looting have become a daily occurrence on social media, yet politicians act as if they don’t see them. Criminals smash glass cases, grab what they want, and stroll out like they own the place. Employees are told not to intervene, and even when police do arrest someone, they’re out of jail before the ink dries on the paperwork.
The result? More businesses shutting down. More jobs lost. More neighborhoods destroyed.
And instead of fixing the problem, Democrats make it worse. Some cities, like Los Angeles and Portland, have decriminalized shoplifting under $950, effectively giving criminals a free pass to steal. If you run a business in these cities, you might as well leave your cash register open and hope for the best.
In Washington, D.C., the city council actually lowered penalties for carjackings and other violent crimes—even as the murder rate surged. In New York, repeat offenders are released under no-cash bail laws, allowing them to commit crimes over and over again with no consequences. The message is clear: criminals run the show.
So where does this end? If stores keep closing, if cities keep descending into chaos, if criminals are rewarded instead of punished—where does it all lead? How many more businesses have to close before politicians wake up? How many more people have to lose their jobs before the government takes this seriously?
There was a time when America valued hard work and honest business. When criminals were afraid to steal because they knew there would be consequences. When police were respected, not defunded. When politicians actually cared about keeping their communities safe. But that time is gone. And if things don’t change soon, it may never come back.
If this continues, the only businesses left standing will be the ones owned by criminals. Maybe they should start accepting stolen goods as currency—after all, they’re the only ones the system seems to be protecting.
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