City of Santa Monica sends
message loud and clear:
Don't do business here!
On May 30, 2020, looters and vandals had their way with Melrose Avenue, Fairfax Avenue and the Grove Shopping Center. Mayor Eric Garcetti failed to call in the national guard in time, despite the fact that a day earlier, protesters had shut down a downtown LA freeway and attacked vehicles, including a police car. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department had previously emptied out the county jails of 1,700 inmates in response to coronavirus. And by closing down schools, deviant kids also had a lot of free time on their hands. What could possibly go wrong?
So when another unpermitted and so-called "mostly peaceful protest" was set to invade Santa Monica, everyone in Los Angeles County knew exctly what was coming to Santa Monica, except the leaders of Santa Monica! The Police Chief, Cynthia Renaud said that she had "no intelligence" that anything bad might be in store for the city. The truth is that more than likely the leaders of Santa Monica were too afraid to shut down the city or use tear gas and rubber bullets for fear of appearing politically incorrect, racist, too forceful, etc. And so it was all too predictable when gangs, ANTIFA, BLM protesters and others looted, vandalinzed and destroyed the City Santa Monica without impugnity as the police stood by a couple of blocks away and did nothing. More than 250 businesses suffered 11.5 million dollars in exterior damage alone. In just a few hours, as much damage was done as the city collects in added sales tax under measure YY in one year!
But none of this was surprising. Santa Monica is run by toxic "progressives" who have little regard for business owners. Even after the riots, Santa Monica Councilmember Sue Himmelrich has been supportize of defunding the police, stating “I for one believe that we should be moving more towards a community policing model and less toward a militaristic mode.” You can't make this stuff up!
On this day of rioting, the people of Santa Monica got exactly what they voted for.
For example, Santa Monica city leaders have welcomed the homeless for years. Naturally the homeless come from far and wide to settle on the streets of Santa Monica. Businesses must contend with loitering laws that are not enforced, as well as human waste and heroin needles that litter the streets. Crime is up. And why not when, under California's Penal Code 459.5 PC, shoplifting of up to $950 is just a misdemeanor.
Santa Monica's 10.25% sales tax is 3/4% higher than Los Angeles' already exorbitant sales tax. City leaders lied to its voters, telling them that the higher tax was for "the schools", when in fact it was to shore up the bloated teacher pensions and gold standard healthcare. Voters fell for it hook, line and sinker.
As a result of the Santa Monica riots, expect insurance rates to go up, and for those costs to be passed on to consumers who will in turn spend less.
Santa Monica has a sizable tech industry, but many tech companies have recently come to realize under COVID-19 shutdowns that they can keep employees working from home on a permanent basis. Couple that with riots and the homeless, and more people will be fleeing Santa Monica for the suburbs.
Tourists will always be drawn to a coastal city like Santa Monica, but with scenes of rampant lawlessness in the Santa Monica streets etched in people's minds, certainly less will come for years to come. Business will suffer. Some business owners will just pack up and leave. Shutting down businesses under COVID-19 was brutal for Santa Monica -- The riot was a knockout punch.