The Armchair Economist

March 23, 2020

I’m glad that the federal government is sending checks out to people who can’t earn their livings while in lockdown. But that will only go so far.

What kind of relief do people need?

People are worried about being thrown out on the streets, and about having their utilities cut off for non-payment.

I would have explored letting people hold off on housing and utility payments and having the government reimburse the landlords, mortgage holders, and utilities. I would still send the payments that the government is sending to individuals, because they need to buy food while they’re out of work.

No, I don’t know how I would have worked out the logistics, or how I would have paid for it. But that’s where I would have started.

                                                                                                           

Because They're Professionals

March 30, 2020

I heard the President say yesterday that he suspected medical personnel in New York were stealing surgical masks and ventilators and selling them.

This morning, I thought, “He’d better hope he never gets sick in New York, or the entire hospital staff might refuse to treat him.”

Then I thought, “No, they’ll treat him, just as they treat other obnoxious and abusive patients who come in. Because they’re professionals.”

Medical personnel: Please know that you have the respect and admiration of the rest of the world.

God Protects Us by Giving Us Common Sense

March 22, 2020

In some places, churches are exempt from lockdowns. Crazy, right? You’ve got a bunch of people in a confined space, spreading germs around with no protection. Just what we’re trying to avoid.

If you read this blog, you know I’m a churchgoer. So this post is not an attack on religion. But churches should be included in lockdowns.

Some churches continue to hold services in order to comfort their flocks during this time of crisis. People need spiritual uplifting, they say.

That’s swell. However, those people who are attending the services are providing fuel to continue the crisis. They not only put themselves at risk, they put others at risk, too.

With options like televising and livestreaming services, church is much more available than it was in the past. Many people may not have internet capability, but most do have TV. Even if you can’t find a service for your denomination, you can still hear the Word of God preached. Or you can grab a Bible.

You are counting on the Lord to protect you. Well, sometimes He protects us by having us use our common sense. Stay home. Stop risking getting infected, and stop risking getting other people infected.

Governors, lock down the churches, too. Please.

Learning Curve

March 29, 2020

A friend of mine who works at a private school got an email from the parents of one of her students. They told her that next year they’ll be enrolling their son in a public school. The tech they’re using during the lockdown has convinced them that he’ll still be able to keep in touch with his friends, even if they go to different schools.

She is wondering whether more parents of private-school students will consider switching to public schools to lessen the expense of their kids’ education.

She writes, “As the world is changing, looking forward, this exclusive, hierarchical way of looking at education may change significantly, leveling the playing field between public and private schools. …”

Something to think about.

(Please read the comments. I can't get them to show on the main page here, but they're worth looking at.)

Opera Redefined

March 29, 2020

Watching “Turandot” made me decide on this definition of an opera:

Opera: A performance with stirring music in which (often) a good person dies on account of a nincompoop.

Reading the news made me think of two shows that may be coming your way:

“Coronavirus: Spring Break”

“Rand Paul.”

He'll Fight the Pandemic by Asking for a Bailout

March 26, 2020

Missouri Governor Mike Parson will not lock down the state to battle COVID-19.

Yet he’s asking for federal money to help with the pandemic.

What about it, Gov.? As far as believing that COVID-19 is actually a crisis: Are you in or are you out?

Making Spirits Bright

March 23, 2020

When I got in the car this morning, I was startled to hear the radio playing, “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.” I didn’t know if the DJ’s had a grudge against somebody, or what.

It turns out that the station is playing Christmas music during the lockdown. This way, they say, you can enjoy the music while relaxing at home without having to go shopping or prep for Christmas.

Funnily enough, I heard a song I like, that I hadn’t heard during the entire Christmas season. So that made me happy.

I understand that a lot of people are hanging Christmas lights, too, to cheer themselves up. I don’t know if that’s around here, or elsewhere, as I haven’t seen any. But it’s nice to know that people are making an effort.

When You're Stuck at Home

March 21, 2020

Lockdown Agenda

Day 1: Yard work.

Day 2: Fold the winter sheets and pretend I’ve organized the linen closet.

Day 3: Dust something and call it Spring Cleaning.

Day 4: Eat off the good china, because we’ll have plenty of time to hand-wash the dishes, and we won’t be preparing or cleaning up after a huge holiday meal.

Day 5 and beyond: Start whacking the invasive honeysuckle in the woods behind our house. As it is practically immortal, that will keep me occupied for quite some time.

Good luck to all of you.

Planning for Recovery—Staffing

March 25, 2020

Once you’ve secured the financing to re-open your business, you will have to consider your staffing options. Your old staff may be available, but depending on how long your lockdown lasts, you may need to hire new staff in order to re-open. Do you have access to online staffing resources? Can you do phone or video interviews?

How can you get new staff trained before your business re-opens?

There are websites that can demonstrate almost anything online—food-handling techniques, customer service, cash handling, etc.; but if you want people to come in ready to work at your place of business, consider Virtual Training. Maybe you can set up a demo model, if not at your actual place of business, then maybe in somebody’s living room. (Hey, desperate times call for desperate measures.)

“Your job will be to check the figures on Report A against the figures on Report B. Then you will check invoices against the actual bill payments listed. This is how we do it in our office…”

“This is how the kitchen is set up; you get the vegetables from the fridge, here; move to the slicing station…"

“Here’s how you operate the cash register…”

It won’t be perfect, but at least you’ll have a head start.

Lyrics that Resonated with Me

March 21, 2020

February 28, 2020

I heard the song “The Gambler” the other day. My favorite line is, “Every hand’s a winner, and every hand’s a loser…”

It’s all in how you play it.

This was supposed to be a stand-alone post, but I never got around to it. Just got word of Kenny Rogers’s death, so I thought I’d post it.

Planning for Recovery—Part 2

March 19, 2020

Bankers: If businesses need loans to get them back up and running after the Coronavirus shutdowns, are you prepared?* Will you have enough people on hand to process requests? Are you considering different lending guidelines? Will do you special marketing for Recovery loans?

*See “Start Planning Your Business Recovery NOW” March 18, 2020

A Far-Reaching Ban

March 15, 2020

I read that the European Space Agency and Russia’s Roscosmos are postponing a planned joint mission to Mars until 2022.

The postponement is due, in part, to travel restrictions resulting from the coronavirus.

The way the article was worded made it seem like they were restricted from traveling to Mars, otherwise they’d have been on their way. 

Probably not, though.

Start Planning Your Business Recovery NOW

March 18, 2020

We are currently in the Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation, where many businesses have been shut down or curtailed in order to limit the spread of the disease. Many businesses, especially small ones, are going to suffer financial losses. Many business owners fear that they will have to shut down entirely.

So, take a moment to acknowledge these possibilities. Then, move on.

Start planning NOW for what will happen when your business re-opens. How are you going to get food supplies for your restaurant—will you buy locally, or depend on trucking? How long will it take you to give your workplace a thorough cleaning, then get up and running? Are you looking at financing to get you over the hump until your business starts earning again? Do you have figures that you can present to a lending institution in order to make your case for a certain dollar amount? Have you checked out which lending institutions may best suit your needs?

Since we don’t know how long services will be interrupted, it will be difficult to make final determinations on these issues. But getting your framework in place is a start. You will also feel like you have some control over the situation, which is an important mindset to have.

And it will help put your business on the road to recovery.

The Brothers of Hollywood

March 17, 2020

You know how TV shows tend to repeat themes? Well, this season’s theme is Half-Brothers Showing Up Unexpectedly.

I’ve seen three shows recently—The Conners, The Rookie, and 911—which all have half-brothers showing up to meet their siblings and remind the main-character brother of how badly his father treated him compared with the younger sibling.

I don’t watch a ton of TV, so who knows how many other shows have used the schtick?

Are the same writers working on all the shows, or do they all sit in one room and swap ideas?

Does Your Business Have a Disaster Plan?

March 16, 2020

It pains me to admit it, but I am not always adept with computers. For instance, this post was somehow deleted from the blog. I am reprinting it because of an epidemic (which I did not include in the list of possible disasters in the original post).

May 20, 2016

During severe weather a couple of weeks ago, it transpired that nobody at work knew where the tornado shelter was. They finally decided that the bathroom would be the best place to take cover. Good thing we didn’t need it, because it is NOT a roomy place. (Note to architects: Work on that. If you have a building with lots of offices, make sure there’s a big enough shelter to hold everybody.)

It’s amazing how many businesses don’t have disaster plans. I guess it’s because disasters never really happen. (Just ask folks in Joplin, Missouri how that attitude can work out.)

Tornadoes, fire, flood, runaway cars…. All kinds of things can happen. And nobody prepares. I worked at one place that had to sandbag against the rising river one year. And even though they were only 100 yards away from it, they still didn’t have a plan in place when the river began to rise a few years later. I never did figure out what they were waiting for.

So do yourself a favor: Figure out where you’re going to forward your calls to; how you’re going to fill customer orders from a different location; how to get your hands on the equipment you’ll need to keep production going; where the mail will go to (you don’t want to miss those payments that are coming in), etc.

And don’t forget to figure out a way to produce the paychecks.