Watch what people do, not what they say about the economy
Americans say that things are terrible but behave as if they’re doing pretty well.
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The putative shoplifting tsunami has been relentlessly hyped both by the usual suspects, such as Fox News, and by some politicians.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Paul Krugman
Have you heard that there’s a huge wave of organised shoplifting – coordinated theft by groups effectively looting stores – sweeping the United States? You probably have.
A couple of years ago, Walgreens said that organised shoplifting was behind its decision to close several locations in San Francisco. In April, the National Retail Federation issued a dire report claiming that “organised retail crime” was responsible for almost half of the store merchandise that vanished in 2021. The putative shoplifting tsunami has been relentlessly hyped both by the usual suspects, such as Fox News, and by some politicians.
