Funny how so many of those “rampant crime” stories seem to disappear now that the midterm elections are behind us. Remember not too long ago when Walgreens was closing stores because the multibillion-dollar corporation just couldn’t keep up with all the shoplifting?
Not everyone was taken in by the pharmacy chain’s claims, but the stores Walgreens closed and the videos of shoplifting became integral to the national “crime is out of control” story line.
The company conveniently dialed back its sky-is-falling claims in a conference call earlier this month, assuring investors that all is well, with Chief Financial Officer James Kehoe saying they may have “cried too much last year.”
Nothing to worry about here, right? Um, except for losses in the billions because the corporation is on the hook for contributing to the opioid epidemic that has killed around 500,000 people.
I sure as hell would rather be a shoplifter than a “public nuisance” that kills people.
If only shoplifting really was the problem, that’d be a whole lot easier . . . and less deadly.