Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by brenden2 2201 days ago
It hurts insurance companies, but it's great for anyone who fixes or repairs windows.
1 comments

Until the businesses don’t exist anymore because it’s not possible to insure at a price where people will still buy product.
These are mostly big chains, I think they'll be okay.
The big chains won't run risky or unprofitable stores. It's the communities that will be hurt by this. Despite interest-free loans and over $100 million in federal funding, Baltimore still hasn't recovered from the 2015 Freddie Gray riots.[1] Moreover: government funding is a rather blunt tool, and directing it at a city tends to cause most of the money to flow to the nicer parts of town. That's what happened in Ferguson.[2]

Riots tend to widen the disparities, not reduce them.

1. https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-c...

2. https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/business/is-rac...

The big chains were suffering outside of a handful of affluent neighborhoods in all cities even in good times, I don’t see why this wouldn’t be a problem. Margins are low, and consumers’ ability to spend is low, so raising prices might not be possible leaving closing down as the only option.
If you don't run a viable business, should your business continue to exist? Which one do you want, socialism or capitalism? In a capitalist system, failed businesses are allowed to fail and don't get free money from the government.
The discussion is about businesses that suffer losses from being vandalized or robbed. No one can run a viable business in that kind of environment.