Liberal socialist utopias such as California and Illinois are a blessing for criminal gangs thanks to the states’ lack of prosecution of shoplifting. Retailers are fed up with smash and grabs and have sent an urgent message to Congress urging lawmakers to do more to prevent thieves from reselling stolen goods online.
In a letter sent to Congressional leadership, 20 retailer CEOs — including Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc., Petco Animal Supplies, Inc., CVS Health, AutoZone, Inc., Nordstrom, Inc., and Foot Locker, Inc., among others, urged lawmakers to pass legislation that would make it harder for thieves to resell stolen goods on online marketplaces that do very little to verify the identity of sellers.
“As millions of Americans have undoubtedly seen on the news in recent weeks and months, retail establishments of all kinds have seen a significant uptick in organized crime in communities across the nation,” the CEOs said.
“This trend has made retail businesses a target for increasing theft, hurt legitimate businesses who are forced to compete against unscrupulous sellers, and has greatly increased consumer exposure to unsafe and dangerous counterfeit products,” they said.
The CEOs said there’s no easy way to stop the wave of smash and grabs. Still, they offered new legislation for lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle to support the Notification and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces (INFORM) for Consumers Act.
The proposed measure would “increase transparency online for all marketplaces, making it easier for consumers to identify exactly who they are buying from, and make it harder for criminal elements to hide behind fake screen names and false business information to fence illicit products while evading law enforcement.”
The retail industry has been decimated by the wave of smash and grabs in liberal cities where progressives have downgraded retail theft from a felony to a misdemeanor. Retailers, such as electronic store Best Buy saw its margins slide in its latest quarterly report to do thefts.
Major retail chains across the country are on alert this holiday season for criminal gangs. Some stores have even redesigned their front entrances to prevent robberies.
Meanwhile, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot blamed stores for not taking adequate steps to prevent the thefts.
Progressive leadership needs to wake up before it’s too late and they’re voted out of office.
For the full letter to Congress, read here.
