Americas great cities once stood as beaconsofprosperity, culture and commerce. But today, manyofthem especially those run by progressive, soft-on-crimeleadership are paying a staggeringfinancialprice for policies that put criminals aheadofcommunities.Its not just about feeling unsafe when you walk to dinner or shop downtown.Crimehas a balance sheet. In poorly led cities, that balance sheet is bleeding red ink bytheday.TheRetail ExodusLets start withtheretail sector. According totheNational Retail Federation (NRF), U.S. retailers lost$112 billion in 2022due totheft, up from $94 billiontheyear before. In fact, in a recent study done bytheNRF, retailers reported a 93% increase intheaverage numberofshoplifting incidents per year in 2023 versus 2019 and a 90% increase in dollar loss due to shoplifting overthesame time period.Thats not just some rounding error thatsthesizeofa medium countrys GDP wiped out because stores cant keep merchandise ontheshelves.IRYNA ZARUTSKA FLED UKRAINE FOR SAFETY BUT DEMOCRATS' SOFT-ON-CRIME POLICIES FAILED HERBig-box retailers arent standing still. Target alone projected$500 million in additional lossesthis year due to organized retailcrime, muchofit concentrated in blue-city hot spots like San Francisco, Portland and New York. Walgreens has closed dozensofstores in San Francisco. Nordstrom pulled outofdowntown.These arent "mom-and-pop" shops without resources.These are billion-dollar corporations deciding its better to retreat than to keep bleeding.Does it seem insane to you that so manyofthese retail stores have to lock up muchofthemerchandise inthese cities so people dont loot, knowing thatthey will never be arrested?What followsthetheft is a double hit: jobs vanish, and so does sales tax revenue. In San Francisco, commercial vacancies are now at a whopping34.8% in downtown. Empty storefronts mean lost payrolls, lost foot traffic and declining city budgets.BLAME DRUGS AND MENTAL ILLNESS, NOT PRESIDENT TRUMP, FOR THE CHAOS GRIPPING OUR STREETSWhen leadership shrugs at rampant shoplifting,thereal victim isntthecorporation itsthelocal community that loses its economic engine.High-End Property Values Are DecliningCrimedoesnt stop attheregister. It seeps into neighborhoods and underminesthelargestfinancialasset most Americans own:their homes. In Chicago, blocks plagued by violentcrimeand open-air drug dealing are seeing higher-end condo and home values sink. Lower property values equal lower property taxes, which means less funding for schools, parks and infrastructure.ThePriceOfViolence And TourismIn New York, itcosts$925 per day or more than $337,000 per year to incarcerate a single person. Yet insteadoftacklingtheroot causesofcrime, city leaders continue to pump money into a cycleofarrest, release and repeatoffenses. And overtimecosts fortheNYPD are spiraling asofficers try to do more with less while politicians handcufftheir ability to enforcethelaw.CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINIONTourists arent stupid. If you dont feel safe in Times Square or Union Square, youll take your vacation dollars elsewhere. Conventions are steering clearofcities with reputations for lawlessness. That means lost hotel taxes, lost restaurant revenue, and lost brand value for cities that took decades to buildtheir reputations.Some 2 million fewer visitors from other countries are expected to makethetrip to New York City this year, which couldcostthe Big Apple $4 billion in foreign tourism dollars for 2025.For New York City in particular,thestakes are enormous. And if individuals like Zohran Mamdani whos already argued for slashing police budgets gettheir way,thecosts will only grow. Defunding enforcement inthenations largest city would mean highercrime, lower investment and billions more drained fromthebudget. Its a recipe forfinancialdisaster.TheBottom LineThecostofcrimeisnt just what gets stolen from a store shelf. Its measured in lost jobs, lower property values, higher taxes, ballooning public healthcosts and tarnished reputations. Poor leadership in blue cities is turning Americas once-great urban centers into cautionary talesofwhat happens when you stop enforcingthelaw.If local leaders wont prioritize public safety,they shouldnt be surprised when businesses, families and capital walk away. Because, intheend,therealcrimeisnt just happening onthestreets its inthebudgetsofpoorly-led blue cities, wherethecostofchaos is measured in billions.CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM TED JENKIN