California, celebrated in the post-World War II decades for its vibrant economy and as a hub of innovation, is increasingly being perceived as hostile to businesses.
A blend of Democratic lawmakers, high taxes, stringent regulations, and a spike in crime rates paints a grim picture of the business landscape in the once-Golden State.
A robbery reported last week by KNTV-TV of Phuong Jewelry in Oakland — a harrowing event where the owners faced a brutal heist — is a stark example of the challenges businesses endure daily.
Some business owners can no longer even afford to pay for insurance, which places them at even greater risk when their livelihoods are attacked. That’s the precise scenario that unspooled on Wednesday when one of Oakland’s oldest jewelry stores became the victim of an increasingly dangerous and economically unviable California.
Armed men executed a daylight robbery and escaped in two getaway cars, devastating the store’s inventory and leaving the owners, who had just dropped their insurance due to soaring premiums, in dire straits.
“Insurance costs so much with jewelry, especially in Oakland Chinatown,” Tony Trinh, the son of the store’s owners, told KNTV. “A lot of businesses here don’t even qualify.”
Trinh added that the robbery was unlike anything they’d ever experienced in decades. His grandfather was was shot to death during a robbery at the store in the 1990s, KNTV reported.
“We’ve been robbed a few times before but not at this level of brazen magnitude,” Trinh told KABC TV. “I thought, did my mother get shot? Did my father get shot? Did any of our staff of community members?”
This incident isn’t isolated but part of a troubling trend affecting businesses across California.
Is crime out of control in California?
Proposition 47, passed in 2014, which raised the felony theft threshold to $950, has had unintended consequences, emboldening criminals and contributing to an increase in retail crimes. This law, intended to reduce incarceration rates for non-violent crimes, has inadvertently made petty theft a low-risk, high-reward activity for criminals.
The result is a surge in “smash and grab” incidents, severely impacting retailers’ ability to operate without fear of significant losses.
In the Phuong Jewelry robbery, the criminals entered the store about 12:30 p.m., shortly after the store opened, according to KNTV.
The store owner, Diane Trinh, said they gained access to the store when one of the men pretended to be a customer, the station reported.
Within minutes, least 85 to 90 percent of the store’s inventory was reportedly taken in the heist.
8 armed suspects ransacked the legacy Oakland Chinatown business Phuong Jewelry yesterday at around 12:30.
The family tells me, in less than one minute 85-90% of their inventory was taken.
Watch as owner Diane runs to the back & gets her 76-year old husband. He storms out… pic.twitter.com/JSmFDL960j
— Dion Lim (@DionLimTV) April 12, 2024
The Oakland Chinatown Improvement Council started a GoFundMe to help recoup the massive loss.
As of Sunday, $36,020 has been raised out of the $50,000 goal.
However, the loss of valuables is much higher than that amount.
“They took the special diamonds right here,” Diane Trinh told KNTV. “They took a lot. Then gold, 18 karat gold, 34 karat gold.”
Despite this significant setback, the Trinh family is determined to keep Phuong Jewelry open and returned to operating the business on Friday, KGO-TV reported.
Although the jewelry store robbery goes far beyond the petty theft covered by Prop 47, there has been an alarming — and expected — rise in thefts in the aftermath of the the proposition’s passage.
As we consider the future of California’s business environment, it is crucial to strike a balance that ensures safety and prosperity for all. Only through thoughtful legislation and community engagement can California hope to regain its status as a beacon of opportunity and innovation.
Retailers in San Francisco and San Mateo, for example, have seen some of the highest rates of shoplifting and commercial burglaries in California.
In 2022, San Mateo reported the highest shoplifting rate among the state’s largest counties, with significant year-over-year increases in both shoplifting and commercial burglaries, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.
Data from Oakland’s police force reveal that robberies increased by a massive 38 percent from 2022 to 2023, according to the U.K. Daily Mail.
With a rise in incidents like this, and an increasingly hostile environment for businesses with the implementation of liberal policies, California is already losing population — for the first time ever. It is likely the state will be experiencing an even greater exodus from businesses and families to neighboring states that are safer and far more business friendly.
