{"id":2013963,"date":"2023-08-28T06:25:02","date_gmt":"2023-08-28T10:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/small-businesses-helpless-over-spike-in-retail-thefts-say-they-feel-abandoned-by-lawmakers\/"},"modified":"2023-08-28T06:29:52","modified_gmt":"2023-08-28T10:29:52","slug":"small-businesses-helpless-over-spike-in-retail-thefts-say-they-feel-abandoned-by-lawmakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/small-businesses-helpless-over-spike-in-retail-thefts-say-they-feel-abandoned-by-lawmakers\/","title":{"rendered":"Small businesses feel abandoned by lawmakers amid surge in retail thefts."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsmall-businesses-helpless-over-spike-in-retail-thefts-say-they-feel-abandoned-by-lawmakers%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2013963&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Mayhem\u2063 on Main Street: The Scourge of Shoplifting<\/h2>\n<h3>Part One: The Impact on Mom and \u2062Pop \u200cStores<\/h3>\n<p>A nationwide retail theft epidemic has plagued the United States, resulting in nearly $100 billion in losses in 2021 alone. This crisis has forced stores to raise prices or even close down, while insurers\u200d refuse to provide assistance. The consequences are particularly\u200c devastating \u200bfor \u200csmaller mom and \u2062pop stores, which\u2064 are being \u2062left\u200b behind. In \u2062this investigative series, Mayhem\u200c on Main Street, The Washington Examiner will delve into the causes of shoplifting, the involvement of cartels, the impact on both large and small stores, and the role of lenient prosecutors. Part One will focus on the\u200d profound effect on\u2063 mom and pop stores.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;I might as well leave \u2064my door open and say, &#8216;Help yourself,'&#8221; said \u200dDeborah Koenigsberger, a small business owner in New York&#8217;s Flatiron district.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Deborah Koenigsberger has been running two\u2062 small businesses \u2062in New York&#8217;s Flatiron\u200b district \u2062for over three decades. Having\u200c experienced\u2063 the challenges of the crack and\u2063 heroin epidemic in \u200bthe late 1980s, she believes \u200bthat conditions for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cuomo-to-partially-reopen-indoor-dining-in-nyc-for-valentines-day-if-positivity-rates-hold\/\" title=\"Cuomo To Partially Reopen Indoor Dining In NYC For Valentine\u2019s Day, \u2018If Positivity Rates Hold\u2019\">small business owners<\/a> are now even scarier.<\/p>\n<p>In recent years, Koenigsberger&#8217;s stores have been targeted by armed robbers numerous times. Employees have \u2064quit out of fear \u200cfor\u200d their safety, and she has\u200c helplessly watched as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/small-businesses-helpless-over-spike-in-retail-thefts-say-they-feel-abandoned-by-lawmakers\/\" title=\"Small businesses feel abandoned by lawmakers amid surge in retail thefts.\">brazen shoplifters make eye\u2063 contact<\/a>, steal from her boutique, and walk away without\u200d consequences. Some \u2064even return for more.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I \u200bhave a\u2063 business \u2062to \u2064run, and for\u200c me, it&#8217;s very personal when you steal from me,&#8221; Koenigsberger expressed. \u2063&#8221;It just feels like I am being violated again and again and again.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Across America, small \u200cmom-and-pop shops like Koenigsberger&#8217;s are ruthlessly targeted by thieves, both organized\u200b groups and individuals driven by self-interest. \u2064As \u200ca\u2064 result,\u200b these \u2064business owners \u200dare left with two choices: raise prices\u200c to compensate \u200bfor losses or give up altogether.<\/p>\n<p>Filing an insurance claim is \u200coften futile, as it \u2064typically leads to premium hikes or dropped coverage. \u2063The options are \u2063limited, and frustration is mounting among\u200d small business owners.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;There are very few\u200c options, and \u200cthere&#8217;s a huge \u200bamount of\u200b frustration,&#8221; Koenigsberger said. &#8220;You are \u200bconstantly trying to be one foot \u200bahead of the criminal at all times, which\u200b means you&#8217;re spending money you don&#8217;t have, \u200cand your \u200dprofits are \u200dalready so slim. Eventually, a lot of people who have sense just give up, and then there are those of us who\u2064 just slug away.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In \u2064June, \u2063the U.S. Chamber of Commerce reported a surge\u2063 in retail theft. A\u200d survey revealed that 56% of small business retailers had fallen victim to\u2064 shoplifting, with\u200d 50% stating that the issue had worsened. As a\u2062 result, 46% of\u2064 these businesses were forced to increase their \u2064prices.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Retail theft is not \u2063a victimless\u2062 crime, and its increasing prevalence means greater danger for store employees and higher costs\u200b for law-abiding \u2064Americans,&#8221; emphasized Neil Bradley, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chamber-of-commerce-urges-biden-to-heed-gop-concerns-over-covid-relief-package\/\" title=\"Chamber of Commerce urges Biden to heed GOP concerns over COVID relief package\">chief policy officer<\/a> at\u200c the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. \u2063&#8221;Store owners are not only confronted with traditional shoplifting but\u200b increasingly with \u2062highly organized criminal gangs who seek to profit\u200d by taking advantage of gaps in the law.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Stories of shoplifting woes extend beyond New York. Tamara Young, the owner of Consign Couture, an upscale consignment store in Oregon, experienced a staggering 19 incidents of shoplifting since opening\u200b a second location in a Portland-area mall. Thieves made off with over $56,000\u2063 worth of designer bags, clothing, and shoes.<\/p>\n<p>One incident was caught\u2062 on camera, showing a woman \u2062discreetly stuffing a stolen Louis \u2062Vuitton bag into\u200b a\u2063 baby stroller covered \u2062by a blanket.<\/p>\n<p>Due to\u2064 the\u200b relentless theft, Young decided not \u200bto renew her lease and now operates solely from her original location. She has even stopped accepting designer bags for consignment altogether, fearing the safety of her \u2062staff.<\/p>\n<p>Similar stories \u2064of theft and frustration \u2062echo across the country. Dale Hardware, a family-owned store in Freemont, California, lost over $700,000\u200d in merchandise to theft last year. Owner \u200dKyle \u2064Smith describes \u2062shoplifting as an &#8220;epidemic&#8221; that\u200c affects small businesses nationwide.<\/p>\n<p>Smith contemplated hiring armed guards to protect his \u2064store but ultimately decided against it due to restrictive policies in the Bay Area. Guards are only allowed to serve as visual \u2064deterrents and\u200c cannot physically intervene or block thieves from taking goods.<\/p>\n<p>Lisa Nicewaner, co-owner of Back in Time Comics and Toys in Missouri, expressed how\u2062 every stolen \u2064item directly impacts their\u2063 bottom line. Unlike \u200dlarger\u200b businesses that can \u2064absorb losses, small\u200b stores like theirs bear \u2062the full brunt\u2062 of\u200c theft.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the challenges and frustrations, these small business owners refuse to be bullied out of business.\u200b They continue to\u200c fight against the rising tide of shoplifting, determined to protect \u200ctheir \u2063livelihoods.<\/p>\n<p>While some states have\u2062 passed laws to crack down on shoplifting, many small business owners believe \u200dthat these measures primarily benefit large retailers, \u200bleaving them behind.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I think \u200dthey\u2063 are all such hypocrites,&#8221; Koenigsberger criticized lawmakers. &#8220;They all talk about how small businesses are \u2063the backbone of cities.\u200b And how we\u200b employ people, and they turn their\u200d backs\u2063 on us. Nobody \u200dout there seriously cares about \u2062a small business&#8230; The bigger\u200c you are, the \u2064stronger \u2063your voice. The smaller \u2062you are, the \u200dless\u2063 voice you have.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Despite the challenges,\u2063 these resilient small\u2064 business owners \u200bwill continue to fight for their businesses,\u2064 refusing to\u200b let criminals\u2062 dictate their fate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A $100 billion nationwide retail theft crisis in 2021 has led to price hikes, store closures, and neglect of small businesses. Insurers are uncooperative. The Washington Examiner&#8217;s series, Mayhem on Main Street, delves into the root causes of this issue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2013964,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2013963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2013963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2013963"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2013963\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2013964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2013963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2013963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2013963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}