When I first moved to Baltimore after college, way back in 2001, I was pretty well stuck in the city and DC, as I lived near the train station in Baltimore and worked near it in DC and had no car. I walked to a small, local grocery store and could, on occasion, borrow a car from a friend for a trip to the suburbs to go to a Target or Best Buy on the weekend. It was like a field trip outside my cage.
One place to go was Towson, north of the city, and the Towson Town Center. It was a mall, but an “upscale” mall with higher-end stores and a classy feel to it and the immediate area.
Well, times have changed and the Town Center is a shell of what it once was. Local media describe it this way: “Shoppers who once packed Towson Town Center say the mall has changed dramatically in recent years, with crime concerns and a growing number of vacant storefronts reshaping what was long one of the region’s premier shopping destinations.”
Liberal policies ruin everything.
I haven’t been to Towson for more than a decade, so I can’t personally attest to how bad it feels, but reports have the mall with a 26 percent vacancy rate, which will give the impression of a ghost town. There are few things more depressing and eerie than walking through an empty mall and the connected parking garage, so once the downward spiral starts, it is hard to stop.
Then, just a couple of weeks ago, Apple announced it would be closing its location in the mall and the local Democrats began to pay attention. A random clothing store or cell phone or jewelry kiosk closing is one thing, but Apple? That’s news.
Apple stores are very popular, but even a popular store can’t justify continued existence in a dying mall in a city being choked by liberal policies.
The Democrats, both in the U.S. House and Senate, from Maryland, are terrified to be seen (rightly) as the reason the Apple store is closing, so they sprang into action. Rather than addressing the overall state of taxes and crime – it’s amazing how people being robbed make others not want to go to where they are being robbed, and going soft on retail theft only encourages more retail theft and makes staying in business, frankly, stupid. Apple is not stupid.
Maryland’s Democrats – Senators Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks, U.S. Representatives Steny Hoyer of district five, Kweisi Mfume of district seven, Glenn Ivey of district four, Jamie Raskin of district eight, Sarah Elfreth of district three, Johnny Olszewski of district two, and April McClain Delaney of district six – sent a letter to Apple demanding to know why it is closing its store.
According to a press release, “The lawmakers are requesting detailed information from Apple regarding the decision-making process behind the closure, including whether relocation or other operational adjustments were considered. The letter also seeks clarity on the company’s assessment of economic impacts and its plans to support affected employees through severance and job placement assistance.”
They want an answer by May 15.
Were I Apple's CEO, I’d find the nearest copy machine (provided Apple still has them around their headquarters, otherwise I’d go to a FedEx Office), pull down my pants, climb up on it and make several copies, shifting each time to make sure I got the best angle, of my glorious rear end, sign a copy of the best image for each of those Democrats and send it to them. I might even frame them.
The gall of Democrats, who have had effective control of the state for decades, demanding a private company explain why it is no longer worth it to continue to operate under their horrible governance is Olympic-level in its absurdity. Apple will never say that, if they say anything at all, but it’s worth saying.
These Democrats are desperate to be seen as caring about the closure, so they aren’t noticed for being the reason for it. It’s how the left operates – they are “ready to solve” problems they’ve created without ever acknowledging they’ve created them or suggesting the repeal of the policies responsible. Ever forward…that’s “progressivism.”
I hope Tim Cook goes with my copy machine idea, honestly.
Derek Hunter is the host of the Derek Hunter Show on WMAL in Washington, DC, and has a free daily podcast (subscribe!) and author of the book, Outrage, INC., which exposes how liberals use fear and hatred to manipulate the masses, and host of the weekly “Week in F*cking Review” podcast where the news is spoken about the way it deserves to be. Follow him on Twitter at @DerekAHunter.