America’s Future stands for small business. It’s one of our guiding principles. And that’s because small business is the core of our country’s enterprise and industry, the engine of our economic system, and a key part of the American Dream. So if you’ve seen the videos of what the media are calling “smash and grab” robberies in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and other US cities, you’re probably as alarmed as we are.

In targeting shops, the masked and hooded criminals who move in large groups from store to store are not only stealing and destroying private property, they’re also laying siege to entire communities. Don’t be misled by talking points claiming that the mobs are only robbing luxury stores catering to the super rich (they’re not), or that insurance will cover the losses (unlikely).

When any neighborhood business decides it has to close its doors because it can’t protect its employees or its goods, it means communities are losing jobs and services. People start to leave those neighborhoods, and soon they’re abandoned by any family who can make their way to a safer place. And so, this lawlessness destroys not only small businesses but whole neighborhoods and eventually entire cities.

The “smash and grab” crime wave is largely a result of the “defund the police” movement and the general hostility toward local law enforcement that’s been on the rise since the riots of spring and summer 2020 that devastated American cities. Now many local police forces have been left shorthanded after officers refused to submit to unconstitutional vaccine mandates. So, where does that leave small business owners, still reeling from the COVID lockdowns?

It’s time to take a stand for our neighbors, the businessmen and women who are an essential part of our communities and our economic system as a whole. Acting locally has wide national impact. Crimes and social policies that encourage lawlessness affects each and every community that makes up our great country. We hope you’ll join America’s Future in supporting America’s small businesses.

As we continue our new series on America’s Future core principles, in this case, supporting small businesses – the engine of our country’s economy – please watch a video with our Board Chair Lt. General Michael T. Flynn, USA (Ret.) on How Free Market Capitalism Plays A Role In The American Dream.