Every Business is Essential... and Many are going away

Original Article

No matter what you think of the type of business, they have employees who suffer first.  Go ahead and get your hate-on about whomever, but the wage earners will be out of jobs.

Most businesses operate on tiny margins, especially stores and restaurants.  Now, restaurants that can do takeout are managing, mostly (at reduced capacity and with reduced employees). But fine dining establishments or sit-down-only ethnic restaurants aren't. They're closed. That means no income for any of the owners or employees, followed shortly by no income for the landlord, who is also probably a small business, so stow your socialist-indoctrinated hate.

Keep in mind that every one that fails means unemployed workers as well.  And just because YOU can find a workaround for their product, doesn't put money in THEIR pocket.

Theaters, who have managers, ushers, concessionaires, ticket takers.

Restaurants and bars who have managers, cooks, servers, cleaners.

Restaurants need food suppliers. If they're not selling food, they're not ordering food from the suppliers. (One correspondent reports his factory produces sliced cheese.  80% drop in orders with so many restaurants closed or doing less business.)

Specialty retailers--bookstores, hobby stores.

Hotels--no one is renting rooms if they're not traveling for leisure or business. Hotels employ maintenance, housekeepers, clerks, often entertainers.

Convention facilities--who have lots of overhead, and lots of staff and/or contractors for support, displays, decorations, etc.

Venues for music or live theater.

Gyms aren't getting anything without guests and attendees.

MUSICIANS, ACTORS AND OTHER PERFORMERS for whom you've cancelled literally every gig in the next quarter. I know a couple of bona-fide rock stars, who don't earn nearly as much as you think they do, who have to hold out until JUNE hoping for potential shows. Their entire tours have been cancelled.

Event planners for weddings and other events. There's no venues to hold them in.

Anything tourism related--retailers, guides, other activities.

Transportation related to those--airlines (already taking massive hits), tour buses.

Doctors are knowledgeable about medicine. Do you know who the most famous doctor put in charge of an economy was?

Che Guevara, in Cuba. Okay, so a racist, homophobic, hypocritical murderous thug isn't really a valid comparison. But he knew nothing of economics and it showed. The CDC should not be making economic policy.

The point is there are ZERO non-essential jobs in even our nominally free (though massively government controlled) market.  If a job doesn't generate income, it goes away.

The question comes down to: How many people are you willing to starve and murder over a virus that the experts agree won't be significantly worse than the four previous major viruses, in the last half century?  And if you can't name them without looking, then your opinion is irrelevant.

EVERY business is essential to the owner, the employees, and the families.