Walmart To Close Last Two Stores in Crime Riddled Portland

Every time it is attempted, the Communist experiment fails. Portland, Oregon is no exception. Since the George Floyd riots of 2020, the city has spiraled into a crime-ridden liberal hellscape.

In Portland, both violent crime and petty thievery are at all-time highs. It is so severe that some stores have closed their doors because they are tired of losing products to shoplifters while the city and police do little to stop it. The latest shop to “retire” from Portland? Walmart. When Walmart leaves town, the community suffers. Outkick reports:

Walmart announced it is permanently closing its final two stores in Portland, Oregon, where waves of shoplifting continue to plague retailers across the city.

The company cites financial reasons for the closures. CEO Doug McMillon recently warned the retailer was experiencing a spike in “shrink,” an industry term for losses related to in-store theft or fraud.

“Theft is an issue. It’s higher than what it has historically been,” McMillon told CNBC in December.

“I think local law enforcement being staffed and being a good partner is part of that equation. … If that’s not corrected over time, prices will be higher, and/or stores will close.”

What’s the sense of attempting to run a brick and mortar store if your bricks are being vandalized and your mortar is being stolen? There is no point for Walmart. If the City of Portland is unable or unwilling to adequately staff the police force and execute the laws, Walmart will take their ball and go home. Or back to China, as that’s where the majority of their goods come from.

Who benefits from large corporations like Walmart fleeing the city? It is detrimental to the population, many of whom rely on being able to obtain household staples at reasonable costs. It surely benefits Walmart. They can go and continue infecting small-town America without missing a beat. Employees and townspeople who rely on the store, on the other hand, suffer greatly. Outkick kept going:

Lax crime policies in the city have caused other stores to shutter, several of which have cited crime specifically. 

In November, a clothing shop called Rains PDX permanently shut down amid a string of break-ins that “left the store financially gutted,” reports Fox Business. The store owner posted a note on the doors slamming the city for the crime rates that led to the closing of the business.

“Our city is in peril,” read the note. “Small businesses (and large) cannot sustain doing business, in our city’s current state.

“We have no protection, or recourse, against the criminal behavior that goes unpunished. Do not be fooled into thinking that insurance companies cover losses. We have sustained 15 break-ins … we have not received any financial reimbursement since the 3rd.”

When a corporation suffers loss after loss, it simply cannot continue to operate. Even Walmart, which sells cheap Chinese trash, cannot afford to give things away.

Even small businesses are going out of business or moving out of town. The city believes it is being progressive or awake, when in fact it is harming everyone involved. Outkick concludes with this:

Elsewhere, Nike asked city officials for permission to post off-duty police officers at the location before closing. Another Nike store in Portland recently closed shop after a flurry of shoplifting incidents.

The Portland news outlet KGW reports that shoplifting incidents have also beset local Home Depots and Targets.

Jeremy Girard of the Oregon Retail Crime Association estimates that the worst-affected stores in the city were losing as much as $5 million per year to theft.

The year 2022 proved historic for Portland. In addition to its theft rates, the city set an all-time high in homicide.

Portland is mayhem. Businesses can’t afford to stay open. Violence bedevils the streets. The city is without a Walmart.

The Pacific Northwest is having a good time. You can’t go to Walmart because Nike is hiding in their store and Home Depot and Target are watching you. You can’t even go to K Mart without getting shot, and K Mart is gone, much like life in Portland.