Georgia Reopens

[silverscreenselect]

Day 1

Today, various close contact businesses like hair and nail salons, barbers, bowling alleys, tattoo parlors, and fitness centers could open. Dine-in restaurants and movies can open Monday (no movie theaters have announced openings). I go for a walk through my neighborhood for exercise most days, so I can see what some of these businesses are and are not doing.

There are two small barber/hair salons close to me that cater mostly to a neighborhood Hispanic clientele. Both were open. One was in a converted house with about four cars in the parking lot, but I couldn't see inside and didn't want to walk up to the door to try to get a peek. The other was in a small strip mall. It had two barber chairs with one male customer and one waiting in the waiting area. There were two female stylist/barbers. One had a mask; the other didn't. Neither had gloves or any other sort of protective gear. The customers didn't have masks either, and the one in the barber chair only had the usual sheet robe to catch cut hair. The manager or owner stood a couple of feet behind the stylists. Other than the one mask, I didn't see any other sort of protective equipment or anything that looked different from what a small barbershop usually looks like.

I also went to a larger, more upscale shopping center nearby which has the local Target store and the sports bar I usually go to on football Sundays. They have a Great Clips and Lifetime Fitness Center, both of which were still closed. (This may have been due to liability concerns; there have already been several coronavirus lawsuits filed against businesses). I also went by a smaller day spa called Hand Stone. They had two employees at the front, a man (who appeared to be the receptionist) and a woman standing next to him. Neither were wearing any protective gear.

I would guess that this same scenario is playing out in dozens, if not hundreds of similar locations around the state right now. I don't think these smaller shops can afford the type of protective equipment that is supposedly required and I have a feeling that many customers either won't go in the shop in the first place or just don't care. And I have a feeling we're going to start to see the results in about two weeks.

[bazodee]

Just like sitting in the Hot Seat, life is about managing risks.

As a Georgia resident, I got a haircut today.

My stylist owns a one-chair, reservations-only operation. It's located in the back of a warehouse type building that doesn't have any foot traffic. She disinfects after each client, wears a mask, asked me health questions upon entry.

I'm OK with this level of risk. Overall, I do think our Governor jumped the gun. It's hard to discern his true motivation here; the cynical among us say that he doesn't want to have self-employed workers collecting unemployment because it will break the budget.

[Ritterskoop]

Small businesses that re-open may have issues with still getting the loans, and their employees getting unemployment insurance. If you are open, you supposedly don't need the assistance. One small business owner (not in Georgia) got yelled at by her employees when she talked about opening, because they are making more on unemployment than they did when they worked for her.

We can have legitimate debate about hair places re-opening, and how helpful and safe that is, but not the bowling alleys. I am waiting for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution to dig up a friend or donor of the governor who owns one.

[Bob Juch]

Small businesses that re-open may have issues with still getting the loans, and their employees getting unemployment insurance. If you are open, you supposedly don't need the assistance. One small business owner (not in Georgia) got yelled at by her employees when she talked about opening, because they are making more on unemployment than they did when they worked for her.

We can have legitimate debate about hair places re-opening, and how helpful and safe that is, but not the bowling alleys. I am waiting for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution to dig up a friend or donor of the governor who owns one.

There's a problem when business don't open when the governor says it's okay to do so: They probably have insurance that covers business interruption during a declared disaster. That would no longer be in effect.

[Bob78164]

Small businesses that re-open may have issues with still getting the loans, and their employees getting unemployment insurance. If you are open, you supposedly don't need the assistance. One small business owner (not in Georgia) got yelled at by her employees when she talked about opening, because they are making more on unemployment than they did when they worked for her.

We can have legitimate debate about hair places re-opening, and how helpful and safe that is, but not the bowling alleys. I am waiting for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution to dig up a friend or donor of the governor who owns one.

There's a problem when business don't open when the governor says it's okay to do so: They probably have insurance that covers business interruption during a declared disaster. That would no longer be in effect.

Insurance carriers are going to fight tooth and nail to avoid coverage (lawsuits have already been filed) on the ground that they don't cover closures caused by pandemics. --Bob

[Estonut]

Small businesses that re-open may have issues with still getting the loans, and their employees getting unemployment insurance. If you are open, you supposedly don't need the assistance. One small business owner (not in Georgia) got yelled at by her employees when she talked about opening, because they are making more on unemployment than they did when they worked for her.

I thought unemployment payments were based on 50% of your highest earnings in the previous 4 quarters, with a max. How can they be earning more now?

[silverscreenselect]

Small businesses that re-open may have issues with still getting the loans, and their employees getting unemployment insurance. If you are open, you supposedly don't need the assistance. One small business owner (not in Georgia) got yelled at by her employees when she talked about opening, because they are making more on unemployment than they did when they worked for her.

I thought unemployment payments were based on 50% of your highest earnings in the previous 4 quarters, with a max. How can they be earning more now?

Under the CARES Act, people eligible for unemployment will receive an extra $600 a week from the federal government until the end of July. The maximum benefit in Georgia is $330 a week normally, so unemployed people here could receive as much as $930 a week. Of course, if they are no longer eligible for state benefits, those extra federal benefits would end as well.

[SpacemanSpiff]

Oh, the irony.

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