How Long Before We See this Here?
A mall was looted in the protests in South Africa this week. A day or two later, locals were still picking through the place, looking for something, anything really, they could loot.
This is reminiscent of last year’s repeated looting of Target and Walmart stores, of protestors smashing store fronts and looting price stores in Chicago and New York. Most of those stores were re-opened, but that won’t be the case in South Africa. There may come a day when it isn’t the case in the U. S. either. Already stores in San Francisco are closing early because of shoplifting. Walgreens has closed 17 locations in San Francisco.
I guess the corollary to “If you build it, they will come,” is “If you burn it, they might leave.”
Food Prices Continue to Increase
The Wall Street Journal says, “You’re paying more for food—and might not know it. ” The article explains that while some manufacturers have raised prices, others are cutting back on promotions, discounts and other marketing expenses. Others are changing packaging sizes or eliminating headcount and increase automation to cut costs. If this bout of inflation goes on long enough, even those that are not counting every penny will notice the increase.