THE ABSENCE OF BOURGEOIS NORMS COMES FOR WAL-MART.

We've noted, in passing, the reliance of what used to be self-service retailers on locked cabinets for some of their offerings, such as baby formula locked up with the expensive liquor at the nearby grocery, or shaving supplies at the drug store, and called attention to the way Target is reducing hours and might be moving away from self-service in response to the shoplifting.  "Self-service shopping only works as long as the shoppers respect their side of the bargain, which is to settle up."  Now it's Wal-Mart's turn.  "Rising thefts at Walmart could lead to price jumps, store closures, CEO says."

One has to have a heart of stone.  The big box retailers gave up on Chicago some time ago.

It didn't help any that Chicago's rookie mayor, Lori Lightfoot, decided that denouncing "vigilantes" was more important than, oh, securing the oases in what would become a food desert.

Two years ago, Target took some stick for pulling stores out of Chicago's south side neighborhoods.  Those were underperforming, according to business metrics, but not under attack by looters.  Today, though, the rookie mayor is not in a good place.  Here's a headline.  "Mayor Lightfoot Pleads With Walmart, Other Retailers To Not Abandon Chicago."  It continues,  "There were earlier reports that Walmart expected to rebuild all stores trashed by looters and vandals, but company officials later said they would open some stores and would not say which ones."  I don't know, if I've had to jump through all sorts of hoops and take all sorts of abuse just to open a store in a city, and then the residents trash it, well, I might be considering a more tactful way of telling the mayor what she told Our [then -- Ed.] President.

It's not any better for the Chicago area dollar stores. "The article also reports on Les Miserables manifestations at the dollar stores, which acknowledge the shrinkage and their enhanced security efforts."

Not too long ago I cracked wise about Dollar General adding a few two dollar items and setting up a store in an unexpected place.  "What intrigues, though, is that now Dollar General would like to set up shop in Milwaukee's upscalish Third Ward."  That was toward what transpired as the end of Trumpian prosperity, and perhaps Dollar General was running out of poor neighborhoods to expand in.  Or was it the early warning, Dollar General could not sustain its business model if there was a lot of shoplifting?

Self-serve retail: caught on in a big way in the American High, now a casualty of whatever we shall call this era of diminished expectations and no standards.