How do we get out of this mess??Consumer confidence after the lock down?

[ClarkGriswold]

It seems like a real death spiral to me..people don't spend money, business fail, a business that relies on those businesses suffer, layoffs and they fail..terrible situation.

I agree, the outlook seems rather bleak. Getting the mindset into people’s brains that we are back to "normal" will be a difficult thing to do. And many businesses aren’t able to weather the storm for very long. Even if the politicians decide the economy is opened again that doesn’t mean consumers have decided that. We'll see what would have otherwise been healthy companies dropping like flies and mass layoffs. They’ve already cut several vendors we use to try and keep our employees on the payroll but another month of this and there will certainly be layoffs. The biological crisis is very quickly turning into a financial one which may hurt many more people globally than the actual Coronavirus.

 

[JSt0rm]

The problem is if we go this route how do we wean those people off the money? $2k a month for doing nothing is very inticing. Now, imagine if you do that for 6 months? I know how human psych works. Most people aren't going to be motivated to do much, and will come to expect the money every week. I know many are just hanging out at home chillin, playing video games and watching Netflix all day. You don't want to fall into this mode though. The longer you do, the harder it will be to find a new job. Or, even go back to your old job if and when it opens back up. Sad thing is that $2k a week is more than what many people make working at their real job.

they can starve then. This is only to keep the economy going right now. A married couple with 1 kid will get $4500 plus 1k a week in unemployment. $8500 a month. Maybe even $12500 a month. Thats insane but the economy will be ready to burn rubber when it opens back up. This is nobody fault but the gov people who fucked up so we dont need to clutch pearls and wonder about people getting too much money.

 

[JSt0rm]

trickle up actually works. We need to get away from the idea of trickle down bulll shit,.

 

[Meghan54]

Dealerships not open where you are? All dealerships around DFW are open by appointment only(Dallas and Tarrant county) or just open(Surrounding counties).

I almost pulled the trigger on a Jeep Gladiator Overland fully loaded for 25% off MSRP yesterday.

Wait....it'll get cheaper.

 

[soundforbjt]

Saw that Nieman Marcus might file for bankruptcy next week.

 

[cytg111]

Or have the option of "Going Home" ala Soylent Green.

God will sort me out.

 

[jim barclay]

While I do not agree, I can relate the protesters that want to get back to work, many people's livelihoods are collapsing quickly..one thing I can not relate to is the religious people who want to go to church and feel like their religious liberties are being suppressed. Since we are stopping all religious services I don't see the legal argument on suppressing their religious freedoms, I'm sure god would be ok with you watching your service on TV.

 

[ShookKnight]

I don't have to do anything - Trump handed over TRILLIONS to corporations... that will be dumped back into the economy, right?

 

[Sam Belford]

People are mainly focusing on Online Spending mainly as we are fit & healthy but we must focus on Digital Health as it is a desperate need in current time.

 

[NTMBK]

The planet is dying, and you're all worrying about how fast we can get back to our consumerist lifestyle?

I hope that this is the shock people need to make them realise that they don't need a lot of the crap they normally buy. If we want a liveable environment for our grandchildren, we need to stop making as much crap. We need to travel less. We need to make things last longer, and repair things instead of throwing them in the landfill.

 

[pauldun170]

When the mortality rate for not being able to buy useless crap, having a failed business requiring entrepreneurs to to start from scratch, bad credit ratings ...etc etc etc exceeds the mortality rate for covid-19...Let me know.

 

[jim barclay]

The planet is dying, and you're all worrying about how fast we can get back to our consumerist lifestyle?

I hope that this is the shock people need to make them realise that they don't need a lot of the crap they normally buy. If we want a liveable environment for our grandchildren, we need to stop making as much crap. We need to travel less. We need to make things last longer, and repair things instead of throwing them in the landfill.

Really, maybe you can explain how the planet is dying..and by the way, without a functioning society, your covid-19 wouldn't even be a blip on the radar..

 

[NTMBK]

Really, maybe you can explain how the planet is dying..and by the way, without a functioning society, your covid-19 wouldn't even be a blip on the radar..

Massive numbers of species are going extinct. Global temperatures are rapidly increasing. We're filling the land and oceans with plastic crap. We're pouring toxic waste into our rivers. We're filling the air with toxic fumes.

 

[Vic]

Massive numbers of species are going extinct. Global temperatures are rapidly increasing. We're filling the land and oceans with plastic crap. We're pouring toxic waste into our rivers. We're filling the air with toxic fumes.

These are not unreasonable concerns, but destroying the economy and millions of human lives is not the appropriate solution to them.

 

[NTMBK]

These are not unreasonable concerns, but destroying the economy and millions of human lives is not the appropriate solution to them.

"The economy" is the cause of this. Every time "the economy grows", what that means is that we have found a way to kill the planet that little bit quicker. We've managed to pull more raw materials out of the ground, churn out a bunch of poison in the process of turning it into consumer crap, and then emit a bunch of planet-warming gases in the process of shipping it from China to Walmart.

Our standard of living is predicated on the devastation of the planet. We need to stop buying so much shit. We need to eat less processed food, less meat, less out-of-season fruit imported thousands of miles.

Eat locally produced food where you can. Repair and reuse things. Don't throw a perfectly good piece of technology onto the e-waste pile just because the shiny new thing came along. Have that business meeting on Zoom, instead of flying hundreds of miles. Don't drive when you can walk. Work remotely, instead of commuting every day.

 

[Jaskalas]

While I am sympathetic to... mother earth, this isn't the best topic for raising that issue.

It's not going to be easy to radically upend our... way of life, when it has resulted in a HUGE quality of life improvements. Short term gains, I know. But it's long enough to last a few life times. Humans want results THIS QUARTER or else. Let alone saving ourselves from extinction down the road. Much too long term planning for our pea sized brains.

It takes a slow, gradual, raising awareness. Of pushing forward towards a common goal.

This crisis is a bad time to do that. People recoil towards their baser instincts when threatened or feeling scared. Altruism, even for our planet and avoiding our extinction tomorrow won't sell when people are scared for their survival today. We need to pick and choose our battles wisely. Today we push for a safety net. Tomorrow we push for sustainability. The former actually does help pave the way for the latter.

 

[pauldun170]

These are not unreasonable concerns, but destroying the economy and millions of human lives is not the appropriate solution to them.

The US Economy will recover. I can guarantee you that the US economy will rebound once we deal with
I can guarantee you that we have the ability to flood the federal unemployment with funds to cover state unemployment shortcomings as they pop up.
Dead people can't.

Some steps to float us while we react and eventually recover.
just thinking out loud hear....

I Unemployment
1. The fed inject emergency funds in to the common fund that states all pull from and up limits to state accounts. Solves immediate problem of fund availability where Fed takes on the burden due to the unique national emergency. Postmoretum will involve charge off so as to not burden states with debt having to payback overdraw. Currently California is the only state still has prior debt (not sure).
2. Emergency outlays towards safety net programs with an increase in individual distribution (aka welfare, medicaid) for those not normally covered under Unemployment. Set bi annual review.

II Medical
1. Lifting on restrictions of direct pay. Allow patients to pay directly to providers. In summary, if you go the hospital you should have option to not involve insurance or state bureaucracy.
2. Introduce mandate where negotiated rates under direct pay must be auditable with simple standard form to be submitted.
3 .Allow for tax write offs for losses incurred undercharging for market conditions. (If a doctor and respiratory specialist see a patient and negotiates a 4 dozen eggs from the patients farm in exchange for an examination, allow them to write that off on their taxes.)
4. Block grants towards hospitals treating covid-19 illnesses
5. Time for insurance companies and drug companies to step up. Market based pricing during this pandemic is immoral and the wrong thing to do. State Exchanges, private insurance working in conjunction with distribution networks and medical providers need to figure out whats more important. their duty to society or their duty to shareholders.

III Allow states adjust unemployment and welfare assistance disbursement rates to allow padding to allow for direct pay of medical care

IV Small business
1. Grants grants and more grants for "essential businesses" and especially those identified as strategic. Lending is obviously going to be a public private partnership. Would have been interesting had the US been more up to speed with the whole negative rates thing.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Massive numbers of species are going extinct. Global temperatures are rapidly increasing. We're filling the land and oceans with plastic crap. We're pouring toxic waste into our rivers. We're filling the air with toxic fumes.

Tell me what % of people you think are willing to do the things required to save the planet? That means no new iPhones, staying home instead of going to that event/party, using your current vehicle for a decade, etc.. People can't stay inside their air conditioned homes long enough to keep granny out of the ER.

 

[NTMBK]

Tell me what % of people you think are willing to do the things required to save the planet? That means no new iPhones, staying home instead of going to that event/party, using your current vehicle for a decade, etc.. People can't stay inside their air conditioned homes long enough to keep granny out of the ER.

That reminds me, you should all stop using so much air conditioning...

 

[jim barclay]

"The economy" is the cause of this. Every time "the economy grows", what that means is that we have found a way to kill the planet that little bit quicker. We've managed to pull more raw materials out of the ground, churn out a bunch of poison in the process of turning it into consumer crap, and then emit a bunch of planet-warming gases in the process of shipping it from China to Walmart.

Our standard of living is predicated on the devastation of the planet. We need to stop buying so much shit. We need to eat less processed food, less meat, less out-of-season fruit imported thousands of miles.

Eat locally produced food where you can. Repair and reuse things. Don't throw a perfectly good piece of technology onto the e-waste pile just because the shiny new thing came along. Have that business meeting on Zoom, instead of flying hundreds of miles. Don't drive when you can walk. Work remotely, instead of commuting every day.

I am sympathetic and agree with your points however it seems kind of hopeless to expect this country let alone the world to change the way you suggest. Locally grown produce cannot feed the world, the farm technologies over the past century are the reason we are able to feed the world. I agree with your other points and i myself try to do those things when possible.

I fear our only salvation is that innovation and technology will find a way out of this mess.