Economic outlook

[flowerseverywhere]

We hear snippets about stores closing, 14+% unemployment, farmers struggling, and so on. But I have heard very little about how we are going to economically recover from this disaster. Who is going to pay for all this stimulus? Where are people going to work if their jobs are lost? How many stores/restaurants/family farms/factories/will permanently close? How many people will lose their homes? And all those that will lose their health insurance or not be able to keep up their premiums.


Personally I have little hope that anyone but the very rich will come out the other side of this still thriving.

[pinkytoe]

We can only hope that the collective "we" can make lemonade out of lemons. We were set to sell/buy a house but now don't know how or when to proceed. It is the not knowing of so many things that scares us.

[bae]

Unemployment in my community is >35% now, a goodly number of the stores in our village have closed their doors probably permanently, and folks are unable to afford housing.

So, I expect there will be plenty of changes here. No clue how it will shake out.

[catherine]

I think some industries will fare better than others. I think any business where people congregate is extremely vulnerable. Restaurants, bars, gyms, hotels, airlines, wedding venues etc. etc. are probably going to insure many casualties.

How that will trickle down to the economy at large remains to be seen.

[jp1]

An article I read today had the prediction that half the people currently laid off will not be rehired. Judging from how long this may go on that seems reasonable. Lots of pain.

This seems to be a very bifurcated situation. I don’t know a lot of people who are currently at long term risk of harm. But most people I know are like me. They can work from home and covid isn’ t killing their industry.

[Yppej]

If there are mass deaths from covid the unemployment problem will be solved. In my state I have seen amongst people I know or on the news numerous outbreaks due to packed harbor cruise boat, house parties, weddings, baby shower, cookouts, birthday parties including one for a woman in her eighties. One coworker was complaining he wishes he had just one weekend to relax instead of going to all these functions.

I am the odd person out because I have not gone to any social gatherings. To me people crowding together is the major risk factor for covid, not failure to wear or miswear some flimsy cloth mask. After a couple washings one of mine has trouble staying on. The ones we have available for customers at work are junk. One guy had the string break off three in a row when he picked them up, finally he got the fourth one to work.

[jp1]

If there are mass deaths from covid the unemployment problem will be solved. In my state I have seen amongst people I know or on the news numerous outbreaks due to packed harbor cruise boat, house parties, weddings, baby shower, cookouts, birthday parties including one for a woman in her eighties. One coworker was complaining he wishes he had just one weekend to relax instead of going to all these functions.

As a wise movie character once said ‘stupid is as stupid does’.

[flowerseverywhere]

We will soon be seeing some severe hardships. The $600 unemployment boost will be eliminated or reduced. Moratoriums on evictions and utility cutoffs will end as well. Landlords and utilities have their own bills to pay so this a damned if you do, damned if you don’t issue. Job loss =loss of medical insurance. Foreclosures are likely to increase. Food prices have already increased.

Heartbreaking when so many people will lose all they worked for. Seems like it will take a very long time for all this misery to end.

[catherine]

Heartbreaking when so many people will lose all they worked for. Seems like it will take a very long time for all this misery to end.

I agree.. as I've said before my symbol for the misery you speak of is my son's boss, a 33-year old who threw all his life savings into buying the restaurant 3 WEEKS before all the s**t hit the fan. I feel SO bad for him. They are open for outdoor dining, but sales are a fraction of what they were their first weeks in business. My son says his boss is obsessed with tracking sales every night. My son is making NO money to speak of. He looks at his job as, not a money-making venture, but as a way to help out his boss/owners--people he cares about. If he didn't care about them, he certainly wouldn't even bother going in. At this point he's looking at maybe taking classes to pick up a new career.

[Tradd]

We will soon be seeing some severe hardships. The $600 unemployment boost will be eliminated or reduced. Moratoriums on evictions and utility cutoffs will end as well. Landlords and utilities have their own bills to pay so this a damned if you do, damned if you don’t issue. Job loss =loss of medical insurance. Foreclosures are likely to increase. Food prices have already increased.

Heartbreaking when so many people will lose all they worked for. Seems like it will take a very long time for all this misery to end.

The $600/week extra ended this past weekend (July 25th). There is much talk of the rent/mortgage moratoriums, but at least here in Chicago, the small time landlords, who own one or two buildings, seem to be ignored. I don't like the Chicago mayor at all, but at least she's kept bringing up these property owners.

Entire industries have been decimated. Hospitality (includes restaurants), conventions (huge here in Chicago - that includes the tradesmen who set up/take down displays), entertainment, retail, etc. Some popular higher- end restaurants here are actually doing more business via carryout than they would have with regular sit-down business (they never did carryout before), but they are the exception. I see man restaurants around me with areas blocked off in parking lots for outdoor dining. Here in northern IL, we've got maybe another 2-2.5 months before the weather starts going downhill.