It’s not like the left wing doesn’t have there own obsession with bashing the right. Hell, the day after Trump was elected I got on the subway and the train car was plastered with dozens of signs that said “FUCK TRUMP” on 8.5x11 paper. There’s certainly plenty to criticize the right for and Trump in particular, but there was a level of obsession over Trump I have never seen before.
During COVID the left was also obsessed with bashing Florida and DeSantis at every opportunity. In retrospect, FL’s COVID outcomes were basically on average with the rest of the country but in the context of massive elderly population, keeping kids in school, and having better economic outcomes than most. Desantis was famously accused of colluding with a pharmacy chain on vaccines- the story that really brought him to prominence. The media ran with the accusations of a crazy woman who accused FL of manipulating COVID data. Etc.
I think the fact of the matter is that the combination of politics and social media is extremely toxic and is one of the top contributors to our current hyper partisan state. It can create echo chambers of ideas founded on bad information while algorithms can encourage disagreement and conflict. Many people get their news from social media. Biased media routinely uses misleading headlines knowing most people won’t read past the first paragraph, if it all.
I don’t think social media should be manipulating content and searches either to keep someone in an echo chamber or stir up negativity. If anything, I think political content should just be massively deprioritized, at least by default, Regardless of what side it’s coming from.
I think we also need to develop a cultural standard where how you interact online with others should be no different than how you would in real life.
I haven’t used a social media site like Facebook in over 12 years. I’m not opposed to social media, but I don’t think it is healthy for people, especially kids, as it is currently implemented. In general it just breeds a pathology of caring too much about what others think.
I think this story is far more complex than the two opposing narratives.
Indeed Walgreens and CVS did over extend themselves with their retail stores and closures were planned.
Theft was not the only reason Walgreens closed stores, but is certainly a contributing factor.
Obviously any retailer is going to close stores that are not profitable- or if they’re forced to close stores they will likely close those that are less profitable.
In CA you have a confluence of issues- 1) #1 Walgreens had too many stores and has not been doing well financially- they do not have the integrated monopoly CVS has (CVS stores, Caremark PBM + mail order pharmacy, Aetna insurance- all under one roof given them massive negotiating power)
2) Retail theft is at an all time high and this undoubtedly cuts into profits. Walmart has brought its concerns over a year ago and is now closing stores citing theft. Walmart as a whole has been doing better than ever from the pandemic.There is a reason why the last CVS I went into in downtown Boston had ice cream behind a locked door and Target has socks and underwear in locked cases. And some stores, including Walgreens are investing in building stores with basically having all their product behind a counter.
3) Safety- Stores and Pharmacies especially do not want to operate in high crime areas. SF has a lot of crime lately. Pharmacy robberies are up- for example 620% in NY. Pharmacists do not want to work in areas that are unsafe
4) Employment- CVS and WAG have treated their employees, pharmacy staff in particular, like trash despite paying well. That’s finally come to a head with pharmacist strikes and many leaving their job. Pharmacy hours have been cut dramatically. You may notice pharmacists now get lunch breaks. I was in a CT CVS that’s pharmacy was now closed on Sunday. You may also notice things are much slower. There is a huge pharmacist shortage at the moment and pharmacies are struggling with staffing. There’s a huge turnover of pharmacy technicians and maintaining competent techs is always a problem. And they’re definitely going to have trouble staffing stores in areas with high crime. I’ve known pharmacists paid more to work in dangerous areas- effectively hazard pay.
5) Insurance reimbursement- Rx. reimbursement rates continue to be whittled away by the PBMs. This is compounded in Low-income areas where most patients are on Medicaid. Some medications will actually lose the pharmacy money. Private insurance reimbursement is bad enough, but Medicaid pays pennies on the dollar. Meanwhile PBMs have been found to pocket 6x what the pharmacy makes. You can’t survive as a pharmacy on Medicaid reimbursement alone.
6) Costs, Taxes, Laws- SF especially, is notoriously expensive. High rent, high taxes. CA is also not exactly the friendliest state towards businesses. Insurance costs more in higher crime areas. And if you don’t have laws to prosecute those that steal from you… that’s a problem.
I suspect for Walgreens the theft issue had pushed things over the edge.
Boston has had problems with pharmacies closing in low income areas resulting in “pharmacy deserts”. Activists of course have claimed “racism”. It’s not, it’s business. These companies have repeatedly demonstrated they will put finances above providing healthcare at every turn. But this exactly is what happens when the government allows two companies to destroy the independent pharmacy market.
