Muh Muh Muh My Corona (virus)

The problem with this line of thinking, especially across the board, is that those in service industries are, in fact, the ones who are most likely to also most need to go back to work. Whatever ethnicity they are.

The issue has more to do with the work itself than the color of those doing it -- except for the very high numbers of people populating such jobs, of course. So again, it's an economic-impact issue, not a race issue. Even if it means wearing masks/gloves, most in the service industries will be relieved to go back to work, because they need to, or will face financial ruin before too long.

This is all barring basic laziness, and the fact that I'm sure many people are actually enjoying a little time off/doing less work for at least a little while right now, of course.

 

But businesses without customers don't need too many workers. I wonder how many workers in these very small industries will actually get called back to work, especially now that the reopening means their employers must now pay their bills as if it was January and the business was a going concern.

 

What have you got to lose? Take it.

 

Well, that's a point, but I think anybody who was working in a service industry that is brought back will be glad to go back to work. And, if such places are open, I think there will, before too long, be customers again (assuming there were customers before). Trust me, people are looking for places to go besides Costco, Walmart, and the grocery store.

That said, your point is all part and parcel of this problem as a whole, and is why re-opening is such a big issue. All of the small businesses actually might not re-hire, or re-hire as many, or even re-open at all. So might some very big retail/service companies, which may also never survive or recover from this. Think JC Penney, Kohl's, even Macy's, Lowe's, Applebee's, and a lot of smaller restaurants, and even movie theaters and fast-food/takeout places that, even though they may be open, are getting much less business because people are afraid of getting even that lately, etc. Many known-to-be-struggling, nationwide companies that this pandemic will do absolutely nothing to help, may actually be destroyed by it. And this doesn't even address salons and barber shops that employ only few, but who are dependent on clientele that may never return, especially the longer such workers are out of business.

This is a BIG problem that, yes, could be absolutely devastating for this county.

All this said, I'm not in favor of just opening everything up as quickly as possible. I'd like to see the country do another month of hard shutdown/distancing -- because I think most people/businesses might be able to survive that -- but then, assuming continued improvement in the coronavirus cases/deaths situation, there needs to be some definite moves toward slow, staggered re-opening of these types of businesses.

Seriously, have you just taken a drive around your city lately? Actually looked at the iron-gated entrances to some of these places (in the daytime, when it's not supposed to be that way)? You'll find yourself almost marveling/gawking at it, and then you'll get thinking. Go to the literally empty movie-theater parking lot that's normally never deserted. Check out the closed/ghostown museums or parks or amusement parks/centers, typically crowded places that, right now, are...not. Really look at and see everything that's not open. And imagine how it's ever going to really recover if this goes on and turns into a long-term thing.

 

Folks at the bottom generally don't go to college. If you want to help folks closer to the bottom, call for forgiveness for technical school loans (and make clear who has to pay for the forgiveness, of course).

 

Is it easier or harder to tell who is pulling their weight when you're working remotely?

 

Anyone around here interested in North Carolina?

 

It's obvious if you're not getting your work done. I'm single, I don't have kids and I don't have the distractions that my four co-workers with two kids at home do. We've been pretty lax on keeping tabs on others. We're expected to be responsive during the day but not expected to be sitting in front of our laptops from 8:30-5.

 

All true.

I didn't mean for college debt forgiveness to be taken as a standalone mechanism for helping the poor in the current emergency. Medical bills, certainly.

The rent holiday, for sure. Which can be done as long as you keep landlords whole while doing so.

90 days or 120 days or 180 days with no rent due and no evictions. Landlords and developers to be paid out of the small business pool or the corporate bail out bucket for that period. As the economy recovers and more people go back to work, a scaled reintroduction of rents, until at the end of 6 months or a year or 18 months - whatever the quarantine dictates - people are paying their rent again.

That this requires the coordination and direction of a government not only incapable of doing it but of imagining it means none of it will ever happen.

 

Just do the daily double, go to the beach, party like its 1999 then take this, you're fine right?

 

Depends on the situation. I do know I'm getting (and sending) a lot more work emails in the evening than when we were in the office.

My old routine was in the office by 7:45, lunch, off the clock at 5-ish, check my work phone around 9 to make sure there weren't any 911 texts or emails. Now it's in the mudroom off our kitchen (my home office) by 7:15, help with the kid's online schooling for a few minutes mid-morning, lunch, help the kid again in the afternoon, off the clock by 6-ish, goof around, dinner at 7, get back on the computer for an hour or two after dinner (especially if my wife - who is on the C19 task force for her company - is working late).

 

Nerd fight!
Interesting debate over how can we know the true contraction rate if we're not testing everyone. Headline is bad but the story is actually quite good. EDIT: The link hede is much better than the hede when you click the link.

Stanford coronavirus study triggers feud over methodology and motives