Rioting, and the aftermath costs...

Not, I strongly suspect, that those rioters in London yesterday give a toss, but once there's been that kind of disorder and damage, there are aftermath costs to consider. Increased insurance for the shops is a fairly safe bet. Increased council and policing costs to add to already high council tax bills is a no-brainer, as the yanks like to call that kind of logic. Costs associated with some people having to replace personal property that may have been trashed in the riots, and so on, almost inevitably. So. Aside from that last item, who's going to wind up paying for all of this mass stupidity?

Yup. You and me.

There are thing I'd love to do to those rioters, but doing those things would get me locked up faster that you can say "oops", dammit.

Addition, a few hours later...

Another thought on the riots. They trashed a McD's and a KFC in Brixton. What on Earth have those got to do with the shooting in Tottenham? Correct. Nothing at all. Likewise, Curries, Smiths, et all, who all got looted and/or burnt out, are staple shops with the lower paid working folks out there - and yet, they got hit.

I'll ask again: Were they in any way, even remotely, to do with the shooting in Tottenham?

Answer: No. Of course not.

Yet, they were targeted by the rioters.

So, one has to ask: What were the riots (the origninal and the copy cat ones later on) all about?

Short answer: Thievery and Thuggery.