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The full extent of the economic impact on local communities regarding the school, business and event shut downs won’t be known for some time. However, small businesses are understandably worried.
Major sports teams have called a halt to their seasons. That has an impact on the local Uber/Lyft drivers, hotels, restaurants and bars, and concession vendors. Companies are canceling events, which impacts catering and event planning companies.
The economic impacts to our local communities will be felt in the short and long-term. This is about schools closing and moving to online education. This is about rodeos getting canceled and essentially decimating the planned earnings by so many families. In my home state of Wyoming, the 3A/4A state basketball tournament was canceled just as it was about to start. What kind of impact are we looking at?
School districts who reserved hotels rooms. Is there a penalty for cancellation involved? For certain those hotels just lost out on well over 150 rooms of revenue coming in over the next few days. Concessions for the tournament. Zero profit. Which puts a hole in the planned earnings for those vendors. The schools themselves had already budgeted for buses, fuel, drivers, and additional staff to chaperone. Some if not all of the schools had already sent the teams to the tournament site when the cancellation happened. Families and friends had already gotten into town when the news of the tournament cancellation was publicized.
Hotels lose revenue: Check
Restaurants lose revenue: Check
Stores lose residual shopping revenue: Check
School districts are out money for transportation and potentially lodging costs: Check
But oh hey!! Former President Selfie weighs in!
If you’re wondering whether it’s an overreaction to cancel large gatherings and public events (and I love basketball), here’s a useful primer as to why these measures can slow the spread of the virus and save lives. We have to look out for each other. https://t.co/Ld7Uc8sPTQ
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) March 12, 2020
Guess what??? You didn’t call a national emergency over the H1N1 Swine flu until well over 1,000 people had DIED and 61 million were affected. So don’t you DARE drop in and whine about the fact that you won’t get to pick that March Madness bracket on live TV this year.
Something else to consider. The media has been ALL IN ON THE SKY IS FALLING!!, and lecturing us about racist terminology.
Boy, this is embarrassing. https://t.co/YaML6FPR8z
— Brit Hume (@brithume) March 12, 2020
Crap like that ADDS to the economic uncertainties in our communities.
Let’s take a look at the economic impact on our local communities. If said community has a nursing home, typically there are numerous people visiting. If the nursing home has to go into lockdown, which did happen in my hometown yesterday, will people stop sending flowers and cards? We might see a drop-off which would affect the local florists. As nursing homes are being shut down to visitors, this is THE time to send cards and flowers!
Local restaurants and retail stores will see a drop in business which, as much as they plan for, they can’t afford. Cynthiana, Kentucky knows what I’m talking about.
““This virus came to town and scared everyone,” lamented Josh Jenkins, who owns JJ’s on Main Street. On Sunday, he told most of his 20-person staff to stay home for lack of customers. He has no idea when he’ll call them back to work.”
Think about this as folks go nuts in the stores scarfing up bucket loads of toilet paper, paper towels, hand sanitizers, and Kleenex.
I have watched it first hand in the last few days. The numbers of folks shopping at a mall resemble the limited numbers of people who were shopping during the week or so after 9/11. The diners in restaurants are down. Other local businesses such as climbing gyms, clothing retail, bookstores, and local nurseries could or are seeing a drop in business.
People may delay going to their hairdresser, massage therapist, Pilates instructor. They will decide to put off going to their hometown coffee shop, bakery, or amazing local restaurant because of the uncertainty and fear that has been generated with the gleeful help of the media.
What about those wonderful little home decorating, cheese, butter, quilt, or olive oil stores? Don’t quit them out of fear.
Folks, it is our local businesses that will help keep us going. Shop local physically while following all sanitary protocols –
LAST BUT NOT LEAST, PLEASE take an objective step back and realize that this too shall pass, and we will all prevail.
Welcome Instapundit Readers!
Feature Photo Credit: Multifacetedgirl via Pixabay, cropped and modified
GWB says: A suggestion I heard was that if you want to avoid, say, local restaurants, to buy a gift card, instead. They get the revenue now, and you get to eat later, after the crisis.
Having said that, if it’s a chain, I doubt the local franchise gets any of the money until you actually go buy the meal. 🙁
Me, personally? I’m doing nothing different except washing my hands a little more thoroughly.
John C. says: Don’t Panic, in large friendly letters.
Joe in PNG says: It appears that a large number of Americans are getting an unpleasant shock regarding state level gun laws, especially in California. There’s a lot of people who want to buy the tools of self protection, and are finding out that there’s miles and miles of red tape go go through first.
Hopefully this will transfer into votes come November.
Scott says: Doubtful Joe.. those that have waited this long to acquire the means of self defense are demonstrably not that intelligent….
Joe in PNG says: A lot of people are blissfully ignorant until it actually happens to them personally.
When it does happen, they then take it personally.
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