In a wild video out of Oakland that blew up on X the week of February 5, 2024, a woman walked through her devastated city and questioned why there were no jobs in the city. Particularly, she noted that all the businesses have closed down, meaning there is no longer a thriving local economy in which people can work. Many used the video to show the deleterious effects of crime.
As background, numberous businesses have fled Oakland in recent weeks due to consistently high crime. For example, the highly popular In-n-Out Burger announced its first-ever closure, explaining that the city conditions were too dangerous for it to stick around. Similarly, a Denny’s that had served the city for more than five decades announced it is leaving, also because of crime.
In the video about conditions in the city, the frustrated woman noted that numerous businesses that once provided jobs to residents have closed. She said, “The reason people in Oakland are seriously struggling is because there’s no jobs. There’s no way to get money to make money to pay bills. Everything that come here closes down. Dunkin Donuts came to Oakland. Dunkin Donuts shut down. Can’t make it no more. We have to Starbucks right here. Starbucks goo close down. Leaving Oakland.”
Continuing, the narrator said, “Okay make it here. No more. We just got this Raising Canes restaurant over here. They had to close down inside. Gone. Can’t open no more. Almost every big business that opens up in Oakland closing. Business is closed. Everything closed. Now Chipotle closed In and Out Burger. On the other side of this used to be a Walmart we don’t even have a Walmart in Oakland.”
She then noted that if even Walmart isn’t around in a major city, that means the city is in a seriously bad spot. She said, “You know you ain’t got no jobs if you don’t got no Walmart in your city. Know your city struggling. Delgado Walmart. Walmart closed down Walmart could not survive Oakland. Oakland is a hard place to survive. We got In and Out Burger right there on the other side. Ready to close down and I’m pretty sure paddock one after that. Next to T Mobile Chipotle, the little restaurant near close. The most low restaurants across the street you can see in a parking lot close all these big old buildings.”
Left out of the video, however, was the woman admitting the obvious reason for the wide swathe of store closures: persistently high crime has made it near impossible for businesses to remain profitable, and the high level of violent crime puts employees, suppliers, and customers at risk. So, if businesses want to avoid remaining in the red and facing liability if someone gets injured, leaving is the prudent decision.
Watch the video here:
All the stores in Oakland have closed down. Why is that? pic.twitter.com/t0uE4oicCk
— Catch Up (@CatchUpFeed) February 5, 2024
Commenting on the video, one individual noted why Oakland is shutting down, saying, “Too many five finger discounts for too long, attacks on elderly Asians, gang violence, open air drug use, side walk camping….
Do you need me to continue?”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
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