A man prays at a candlelight vigil in Highland Park, suburb of Chicago, Illinois, the United States, July 5, 2022. People held mourning services for a mass shooting during an Independence Day parade in downtown Highland Park on July 4. (Photo by Joel Lerner/Xinhua)
Crime has continued raging in many cities while residents cope with a heavy cost that has been compounded by record-high inflation.
NEW YORK, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Crime waves swept major cities across the United States two years ago amid the summer of 2020's protests and riots and the coronavirus lockdowns that upended society, reported Fox News on Tuesday.
"Crime has continued raging in many cities while residents cope with a heavy cost that has been compounded by record-high inflation," said the report.
"As a purely factual matter, prices do tend to be higher -- and the quality of service and products lower -- in stores in low-income neighborhoods," economist Thomas Sowell wrote in an opinion piece.
He said that many "ghetto stores" charge higher prices for a bevy of reasons, including "crime, shoplifting, vandalism and riots have raised the costs, both directly and by causing insurance rates and the costs of security to be higher."
Sowell's words have proven true in recent years. Commercial insurance rose in 2021 following the George Floyd protests and riots of the summer prior, which marked "the first civil disorder catastrophe event to exceed 1 billion U.S. dollars in losses to the insurance industry," according to the World Economic Forum.
"Battered stores in cities have taken extra security measures and even cut operating hours to help curb rampant shoplifting," added Fox News in its report. ■