IS IT TRUE that every elected political office holder should read todays IS IT TRUE?  …they will quickly realize that they can’t continued to rely on tax dollars generated from the generated by national retail stores chains?  Oh, they also should be aware of the loss of personal income tax because of employee layoff when these national chain stores close.

IS IT TRUE even discount retailing giant Wal-Mart isn’t safe from the competition from online retail. In January, the chain announced it would close 269 stores worldwide, including 154 U.S. locations. As it moves to grow its online business, Wal-Mart has since agreed to acquire web retailer Jet.com for $3.3 billion.

IS IT TRUE Macy’s, the nation’s largest department store company, began 2016 by shuttering 40 stores. It later announced plans to close 100 more, in the latest in a series of moves by retailers to stave off financial struggles. As more shoppers flock to the convenience of online shopping, brick-and-mortar stores are shutting down nationwide.

IS IT TRUE Sports Authority, once the nation’s largest sporting goods retailer, filed for bankruptcy and said it would close 140 of its 450 stores. In May, the company followed up by saying it would close all of its remaining stores. Rival sporting goods chain Dick’s would eventually buy the Sports Authority name and other intellectual property, plus 31 store leases, for $23 million.

IS IT TRUE struggling Sears Holdings Corp. announced it was closing 68 of its Kmart stores and 10 Sears stores. This fall, there have been scattered reports of the company moving to shut down other stores, including a Sears location in Connecticut and seven Kmart stores in Michigan.

IS IT TRUE Ralph Lauren announced last year that it would close 50 of its stores and cut 1,000 jobs. The company behind the Polo brand has faced sluggish sales and stiff competition from popular — and cheaper — brands like H&M and Zara.

IS IT TRUE Office Depot, which closed 400 stores during the first half of 2016, announced plans in early August to close 300 additional locations within the next three years. The company, which scrapped plans to merge with bigger rival Staples early in the year, has reported seven straight quarters of declining sales.

IS IT TRUE Aeropostale a clothing retailer targeted to teenagers announced plans to close 113 U S locations, along with all 41 of its Canadian stores. The company filed for bankruptcy protection and is struggling to stay afloat with fierce competition from lower-priced chains like Forever 21.

IS IT TRUE In January, J.C. Penney announced plans to close seven of its U.S. stores. It was the third straight year in which the company had announced closings at the beginning of the year; it shuttered 40 stores in 2015 and 33 in 2014.

IS IT TRUE Circuit City was once one of the main electronics retailers in the U.S. Based in Richmond, Virginia, the company can trace its history back to 1949, and dominated the electronics space up until the 1990s. In its heyday, Circuit City had 1,520 stores across the U.S. and Canada, with 46,000 employees.  But the company faced increasing pressure from Best Buy, big-box stores like Walmart and online sales from Amazon. After a series of failed strategy changes, the company ultimately filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and closed its doors the following year. Circuit City left a pile of assets after its demise, to the tune of $3.4 billion.

IS IT TRUE Linens & Things was a key player in the housewares market.  In its prime, the company had more than 500 stores across the U.S.  Unfortunately, massive cutbacks in consumer spending caused problems for the company, and it filed for bankruptcy in 2008.  Just two years earlier, the private equity firm Apollo Management bought the company in an attempt to turn it around. In the end, Linens & Things closed up shop with $1.7 billion in assets.

IS IT TRUE The grocery store chain, often referred to as A&P, limped along for several years by filing for bankruptcy twice. The company had been in business since 1859, starting just a couple of years before the Civil War, but was forced to close its last store in New York City two years ago.  A&P met its match among rising competition in the grocery-store market, and after more than 150 years in business, the company shuttered its doors and sold off $1.6 billion in assets.

IS IT TRUE E-commerce claimed another victim last year when Sports Authority filed for bankruptcy. The company had a total of 463 locations across the country, but couldn’t keep up with increasing competition, high leadership turnover, and instability from past mergers.  Sports Authority had $1.3 billion in assets at the time of its Chapter 11 filing — the same amount the private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners paid for the company back in 2006. Rival Dick’s Sporting Goods swept in and bought the Sports Authority’s intellectual property, mainly customer information for about $15 million.

IS IT TRUE It was just two years ago when Radio Shack first filed for bankruptcy, with about $1.2 billion in assets. Sprint and the hedge fund Standard General took over about 1,700 of the company’s once 4,000 stores, and tried to keep the company afloat.  But Sprint announced last month that it will close the remaining stores and convert several hundred of them to Sprint stores. After nearly a 100-year run in the retail business, RadioShack may finally be seeing its end this time around.

Todays “Readers Poll” questions is: Do you feel that the City should help the displaced residents of Lincoln Estate?

FOOTNOTES: The above information concerning big chain retailers were taken from article posted on MSN.