Manufacturing was outsourced to China starting in the 1990s, resulting in a flood of cheap consumer goods. Inexpensive labour means artificially low prices, whi

Manufacturing was outsourced to China starting in the 1990s, resulting in a flood of cheap consumer goods. Inexpensive labour means artificially low prices, which means in turn that most consumer goods are not worth repairing because the cost to repair them with North American or European labour is prohibitively expensive. It is cheaper to replace the item if it breaks. This has led to a decline in two professions: electronics/appliance repair and thievery. Just as it doesn't make sense to repair most consumer goods, it doesn't make sense to steal them, either. The street price of stolen goods is a tiny fraction of the new or even the used goods price. When new prices are so low, the miniscule price of stolen goods means that it is not worth the risk of getting caught stealing. The decline in domestic manufacturing may also have a bearing on other crime rates. Depression and hopelessness in a population, paradoxically, do not necessarily lead to increased violence. Look at any enslaved population; the first job of the keepers is always to create hopelessness, so that the population is easier to control. Violence declines in any enslaved population--at least, violence against the keepers. And violent crime among the enslaved is rarely reported, partly because the keepers don't care and partly because the enslaved do not trust the keepers. Criminals have either become anergic or else they have switched to confidence scams like organized religion. Religion, unfortunately, does not get reported as a crime. Edit:sp.