40 replies to this topic

[renamerusk]

A lot things have been affected that we did not imagine would be.

 

One thing that might be feeling the slowdown could be North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA).  With less workers commuting to work, will the toll ways suffer and will roads maintenance be impacted with lower fuel tax receipt. 

 

I know that my travel has been greatly curtailed to the extent that my fuel tank taking much longer to be depleted.

[johnfwd]

I'm guessing your thread is focused more on the national economic impact rather than the quarantine itself.  Here's an economic impact statewide that's going to relieve tenants but seriously harm landlords economically.  I just conversed with a local landlord about the news that the Texas Supreme Court has ordered a halt to evictions statewide until April 19 (see Texas Tribune article below).

 

My landlord friend told me the other side of the coin:  Landlords may rely heavily on rent payments to pay mortgage payments and property taxes.  If they have to hang on to non-paying tenants, these property owners may be in serious trouble.  For my friend's sake, I hope this halt is only temporary.

 

https://www.texastri...s-telemedicine/

[roverone]

I expect that the way this is going to have to play out is that landlords will have to be lenient with renters, and banks will have to be lenient with mortgage holders, and the government will be helping the banks and dealing with property tax collection delays.

 

Since there are margins at each of those levels, that seems more cost effective than giving people money to pay rent to landlords to pay banks for mortgages -- but this is outside of what I know about.

 

I'd like to see any direct payments to people go to things like food.

[cjyoung]

There needs to be give and take from everyone.

[renamerusk]

I agree with the likely playing out of this crisis as posted in #3.

 

First, do not create any additional stress on families concerning shelter.

 

Second, provide food for families.

 

All of those due payment can and will be made whole as the Government undertakes both fiscal and taxation policy compensating or excusing over time that will

[cjyoung]

I'll be happy when we can actually get tested in Tarrant County. No excuses for the slow movement from local officials.

 

https://www.star-tel...e241371466.html

[renamerusk]

Something that I seem to be experiencing is the residential wifi signal is not as strong as customary.  News outlets are reporting more demand in residential wifi as a result of employees working at home, people shopping from home and school age students using more bandwidth for gaming,etc.

 

If commercial/industrial/office bandwidth is theoretically down, why isn't bandwidth being switched over to the residential side?

[roverone]

There is always a path between where you are using an internet connection and the interconnection backbone of the internet.

 

In most cases, particularly residential, there are quite a few hops between you and the first redundant connections.  If it is your neighbors / neighborhood increasing their usage up to the bandwidth limitations of the midstream hardware, there is little that can be done in a hurry.

[Doohickie]

Something that I seem to be experiencing is the residential wifi signal is not as strong as customary.  News outlets are reporting more demand in residential wifi as a result of employees working at home, people shopping from home and school age students using more bandwidth for gaming,etc.

 

If commercial/industrial/office bandwidth is theoretically down, why isn't bandwidth being switched over to the residential side?

It's not that simple.  It's like saying that because all the water isn't being used by the companies, why can't they divert all water to residences?  The answer is the water supply system can only deliver according to the size of the pipes.

 

The same thing is true of internet service:  The service coming into your neighborhood is coming through a wired connection and that connection can only handle so much data transmittal.  With everyone home all the time, that data is being used by people trying to do business, people watching Netflix, etc., at a data volume that exceeds what the system is designed for in many areas.  It's not simply a question of rerouting things; to get more data through the wiring needs to be upgraded.

[renamerusk]

There is always a path between where you are using an internet connection and the interconnection backbone of the internet....In most cases, particularly residential, there are quite a few hops between you and the first redundant connections.....

 

 

.........The same thing is true of internet service:  The service coming into your neighborhood is coming through a wired connection and that connection can only handle so much data transmittal..... It's not simply a question of rerouting things; to get more data through the wiring needs to be upgraded.

 

 All of this now makes more sense. Thanks
 

[cjyoung]

 

Something that I seem to be experiencing is the residential wifi signal is not as strong as customary.  News outlets are reporting more demand in residential wifi as a result of employees working at home, people shopping from home and school age students using more bandwidth for gaming,etc.

 

If commercial/industrial/office bandwidth is theoretically down, why isn't bandwidth being switched over to the residential side?

It's not that simple.  It's like saying that because all the water isn't being used by the companies, why can't they divert all water to residences?  The answer is the water supply system can only deliver according to the size of the pipes.

 

The same thing is true of internet service:  The service coming into your neighborhood is coming through a wired connection and that connection can only handle so much data transmittal.  With everyone home all the time, that data is being used by people trying to do business, people watching Netflix, etc., at a data volume that exceeds what the system is designed for in many areas.  It's not simply a question of rerouting things; to get more data through the wiring needs to be upgraded.

 

 

 

Newer neighborhoods with fiber do have more capacity than what's being delivered.

[renamerusk]

I suspect that nothing will be the same after this long period of adjustment.

 

Employers will see this as the time to reduce and replace labor with technological innovations.  Macy's and Kohl are eliminating nearly all of its retail store employees; and will focus on their online platforms.  Pier One which recently laid out all but a handful of administrative staff is closing stores; yet its online platform is actually doing quite well.  What this pandemic has unleashed is a reluctancy by corporations that predated the pandemic to dramatically reduce labor but now have the excuse, right or wrong to do this to shore up value.

 

The growth of the economy will be likely centered around infrastructure/materials and logistics to restock and to keep up with the demand of the public to have things delivered.

[360texas]

We have had fiber all the way into home and directly connected to home router for a year.  We live in Fort Worth Wedgwood area outside the South side loop. 

For a long while we were running 800 - 900 mbps UP/Down.  Seems ATT is doing balancing adjustments - today at 10:57am we are running 920.08 Down and only 186.02 mbps UP.

Yes, for our first time we purchased and had delivered  a couple weeks of food from Krogers on McCart.  Took 3 days for it to be delivered.  Think next time we will order online then do Store Pickup.

For activities we walk around the residential block at least 1 time each time.  Walk around the back yard couple times a day.  Backyard was designed and landscaped pathway in a circle.  So you end up where you started.

 

Yes, we are staying sane while still walking in circles.

Stay home - Stay safe.

[renamerusk]

From what I understand, Denmark has one, if not the most sensible strategy by far to avert chaos as much as possible.

 

Denmark is distributing direct money into the employer's payroll account.  I would guess that after verifying the number of employees and that the employee was actually employed by your business, the employer would distributed a paycheck weekly/bi-weekly to the employee.  The Danish Government funds the payroll accounts entirely. 

 

This strategy actually keeps the employer's staff intact and will allow the business to ramp up with little difficult once the crisis has been managed, as though the employees have been on an extended vacation.

[johnfwd]

This may not be a popular position to take just now, but all this federal government relief money to prop up our economy in this national emergency may be necessary but it's going to come back to bite us in the long run.  I know most of us aren't thinking right now about the adverse impact on the federal budget, not to mention the national debt.  What'll it be after the emergency is over?  A huge tax increase?  Or a painful reduction in social service benefits like Social Security and Food Stamps?

 

Financing a national emergency, historically, has been by either bond drives or tax increases.  "Buy bonds!" was the rallying cry during World Wars I and II.  Unfortunately we don't do war bonds, anymore.  In modern times, wars like Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan should have been financed by tax increases.  Instead of tax increases we had tax cuts.  So the budget deficit was already in the stratosphere prior to this virus pandemic.

 

The "Great Depression" relief in the 1930s was a commanding increase in federal government spending.  What really bailed us out in that era was military spending caused by WWII.  In the "Great Recession" of 2008-2012, the Obama-era bailouts for banks and auto industry helped, but that increased the federal budget deficit.

 

Enjoy your $1,200, when and if it comes.  Maybe there'll be more government relief money coming after that.  And then what?

[roverone]

To me it makes zero difference on what we should do today whether we are concerned it will "come back to bite us in the long run"

 

Even for those who are extremely fiscally conservative, I can't imagine going any other direction except pouring in cash in, in every possible way -- this is the rainy day that our good credit is built up for -- and it is not just a USA problem, but a global problem.  The way that we'll get behind in the world order is to attempt some kind of austerity measures now.  We just need to plow right through this.

 

Because the real measure of our country is not dollars or the debt, but our ability to keep our people healthy and alive.  There are countless healthcare workers and essential food and infrastructure providers who are putting themselves at risk for us every day to get us through this, and if it means we have to pay everyone else to stay home and keep the problem from getting worse and making their jobs even harder, well that is simply what we have to do.

[JBB]

Previous stimulus plans that sent money directly to people's pockets were accounted for in subsequent tax years.  I know that this one is significantly more substantial, but does anyone really recall being noticeably put out by the tax hit of the previous stimulus (can't recall the year, it was after 9/11, but prior to the 2008 crash)?

 

I would like to see more help for small businesses.  I don't know what that looks like, but I worry that the paid leave provisions are hard on them.  I hate that there's bail out money for airlines.  They've done nothing but toot their own horn for being profitable and take advantage of a roaring economy.  Through all of that, they did absolutely nothing to stablize their cash position to make it through a crisis.  I know you can say that about a lot of businesses and individuals, but it just rubs me the wrong way with money printing operations like airlines.

[johnfwd]

As a sole proprietor I applied for one of the SBA small business loans related to the coronavirus pandemic disaster.  Have no idea when, or even if, it will be approved.

 

Regarding the federal budget deficit, and the overall national debt, I'm not against the idea of spending $2 Trillion-plus dollars to support the economy during this national emergency.  Just saying that, in the long run, this puts more debt on our children and grandchildren.  A future Congress, and president, may be faced with having to take draconian measures to bring down the deficit and the debt.

[roverone]

It will be interesting to see the more delayed impacts of personal and residential financial state.

 

Obviously for lots of businesses the time between providing a good or service and and getting paid is very short and so the interruption of being able to offer those goods and services or their demand had a very quick and obvious impact on revenue.  And it happened that the timing of the stay at home rules came not too much before many people's rent was due.

 

But there is a whole other category of services, or other longer-term contract items, where the invoices may just now be going out, or maybe they go out quarterly, that lag further compared to usage, or may have no relation to usage.  Businesses providing those things don't necessarily know yet how many of those invoices are going to be slow-paid, or no-paid.  Of course, every business should be working through these things as a matter of risk management, but they might not know how bad it is going to be until further down the road.

[renamerusk]

I don't know how many of you will agree with me or not agree, but I think everything should be frozen in time from March 2020 - September 2020.  When we are in a hole, we should just stop digging.

 

The most important need is that the public does not have fear of losing food, shelter and health care.

 

Business will return once the public is able to manage the crisis and the risk.

[roverone]

I consider just how much we humans can actually slow down.  We don't have the benefit of being able to hibernate.

 

For sure, there really is a huge deactivation of the economy, but it is also interesting to see the areas that have a shift / displacement to them; things that are being activated by this.  I suppose we won't really know until further down the road.

 

Restaurants went down -- is their pickup / delivery meaningful? Did grocery pick up most of it?  How much disappeared because people are being more dollar efficient at getting their meals?  I don't know.

 

Lots of kinds of gathering people together for whatever reason, from a business meetings, to conferences, to church services, to just personal travel all had their own economy of how they operated that has been deactivated; now so much of that is pouring into video and audio conferencing (whose use is astronomically higher).

 

Some things in life are like squeezing a balloon -- it might not be happening the way it was, but it is happening some other way.

 

And one has to assume that if we could see the instantaneous costs for healthcare, I expect they've gone up because in some places they are operating at or above standard capacities.  For sure healthcare and at least certain areas of medical research are very activated.

 

I just wonder what the longer term behavioral changes will be: are new ways of doing things being brought into so many people's lives that these new ways will become more mainstream even the other side of this situation we are in? And the flip side of that are new business ideas that address our current situation going to catch on and find a permanent place in the way things work from now on?

 

Are there things that because of interruption, people will just not consider as important even long term?

 

How will marketing / advertising deal with these things I wonder?  I try not to be too cynical, but I think I'd be foolish if I didn't recognize the countless dollars that go into making small wants or artificial aspirations be converted into making people think they really need something.  Will they be working to point things back as they were?  Or is there some authentic concept about what is necessary / important that will linger in people?

 

I guess much of these will end up being about how bad it gets, how close to home it hits, and how long it lasts.

[renamerusk]

............I just wonder what the longer term behavioral changes will be: are new ways of doing things being brought into so many people's lives that these new ways will become more mainstream even the other side of this situation we are in? And the flip side of that are new business ideas that address our current situation going to catch on and find a permanent place in the way things work from now on?.......

 

I try not to be too cynical, but I think I'd be foolish if I didn't recognize the countless dollars that go into making small wants or artificial aspirations be converted into making people think they really need something.  Will they be working to point things back as they were?  Or is there some authentic concept about what is necessary / important that will linger in people?

 

  Glad to have someone who admits like myself to be wondering about the way things have been before and  how they will be different post pandemic.  No, I do not see your viewpoint as being cynical; instead I see it as being introspective.

 

The term "The New Normal" is frequently bantered around, but this really is the end of the old ways and the beginning of something new; hopefully better and more stable for the masses. 

 

Three trillion dollars to rescue us is jaw dropping and it ought to be sobering.  If as it has been predicted that a vaccine for the virus is 12 months to 18 months from being produced, I don't think that:

 

healthcare can remain in the hands of capitalists and investors as their model and its flaws are exposed

 

employers will want to fully bring back their employees having adjusted to doing business the pandemic era

 

certain industries will continue to be allowed to operate without sufficient reserves; and will be required by law to maintain reserves in the same way that banks and the financial sector are mandated to do.

[johnfwd]

As an attorney I think of civil liberties.  In a national emergency, we may have to sacrifice some civil liberties for the greater good.  But we still have a democratic society, so the curtailment of freedoms should only last during the emergency.  Unfortunately, some restrictions may remain in what we consider the post-COVID-19 "New Normal."

 

Reminds me of the post-911 "New Normal."  Freedom of movement and travel has been restricted since 911 on account of the threat of terrorism.   For example, pre-911 you could board of plane without too much security hassle.  No more the case.

[renamerusk]

"Way to go home boy Dickies.  You are an amazing ambassador for our City -

 

Fort Worth Business Press - Fort Worth's Dickies to produce 3.4 million isolation gowns | News | fortworthbusiness.com

[renamerusk]

From the Executive Branch, a Coronavirus Economic Council that will include from North Texas these two members: Jerry Jones and Mark Cuban.

 

I think Jones is basically lock and step with Trump, but Cuban will be a wild card.  Cuban has been an open critic of Trump going as far as questioning his true wealth.  Cuban has also not definitively ruled out a bid for the 2020 General Election, although it is the longest of longest shots.

 

When it comes to taking credit, no one can seemingly match Jerry Jones; and we it comes to bucking the establishing, no one either can match Mark Cuban.

 

Rebellious Cuban plus The Boss Jones added with Trump will make for a heck of a cocktail!

[renamerusk]

 To be Ebneezer Scrooge or not to be.

 

Reported by Fort Worth Business Press - Ashton Hotel & siblings -https://fortworthbus...-program-funds/

 

Reported by NPR:  LA Lakers - https://www.npr.org/...l-business-loan

 

Reverse Robin Hood

https://factba.se/sba-loans

[roverone]

Although something like it has a role, I think the FactSquared site is just trying to shame companies, and it is missing the very most important columns which would help us truly evaluate the situation: employee count and total of capped payroll.

[renamerusk]

Yes, the point illustrated by the FactSquared site is to shame companies; and what is a noble role is that our Fort Worth Business Press,which is by no means, a liberal media outlet and having reported extensively upon the follies of TRV, is adopting the same philosophy: Shame blatant, incompetent, and potentially fraudulent behavior and misuse of public dollars.  FWBP has been an excellent free press role on both conservative and progressive issues.

 

Look a bit closer, some of the market cap of these companies are in the tens, hundreds of millions and some exceed 1 billion dollars (Shake Shack and Ruth Cris).  From these deep market caps, surely they could afford to carry 100% or some lesser percentage of their payroll;  from personal experience, we contributed from our own investment funds to the support our payroll during times for number of situations.

 

Congress has again be force to approve an additional $500B and to specifically mandate a carve out provision for small mom and pop stores who were outgunned by the Wall Street companies such as professional legal and accounting firms who may have under 200 partners and appear to be "small businesses,  but commonly they have market caps in the 100's of millions and some with 1B and more in market cap.

 

Right, small businesses like Joe T. Garcia's with waiters, cooks, busboys, etc. need to be helped out during these difficult times, but there should be a means test before qualification based upon wages of employees instead of number of employees.

[roverone]

I think we have seen through history that companies like General Dynamics and Lockheed have had layoffs despite having high market caps -- a market cap is not money in the bank.  The goal is to keep the employment connection.  As so as they are laid off, there is little hope that the same people will be hired back.

[renamerusk]

General Dynamics and Lockheed are not the same.  These corporations have defense contracts that are untouchable into infinity.

 

This is a 12-18 months crisis for which 12-18 months will devastate truly small businesses and entreprenuers.  They employ low to moderate hourly earning employees who can support themselves normally but will become destitute if money is not provided to them directly in some form or fashion.

 

The airlines and other behemoth businesses should have had the reserves to weather such a crisis but chose to use their profits to pay dividends and buy back stock. They do not have my sympathy.  The grocer workers, the food processing workers, the nursing and medical providers do have my sympathy and greatest appreciation.

 

If the attempt to equate the plight of hedge fund managers, multi national corporation to the plight of local businesses, then the comparison is going to be a hard sale.

[roverone]

And yet both large defense contractors have shed employees in great numbers when contracts change or move to a different phase expectedly or unexpectedly.  You and I would think that they would have the reserves to keep these people employed, at least for a while, but that is not what they do, even with there huge market caps.

 

The you say these large companies do not have your sympathy, I can understand that, but that is not what we are talking about, we are talking about sympathy for their tens of thousands of employees; how do you maintain that employment link so they have a job on the other side.  I don't think we can judge whether it is better or worse for someone who has a job to work for a big company or work a small company, and I don't think that you should punish employees for the sins of their corporate leaders.

 

I'm not saying there are not abuses, but until you know how many people these large companies are retaining that they would not retain without the PPP program, you are just being mad at rich people.

 

Hedge funds are not at all what we are talking about.  Many of the top names on that FactSquared list are in hospitality / restaurant businesses -- those employ a lot of people.  Surely those people are not less deserving to keep their job.  I understand you want a societal change and you want private money to step up for this disaster, but if it is not going to happen, people should not automatically be thrown by the wayside.

 

Read up on the rules of the PPP -- it is not as much a corporate giveaway as you might think.

[renamerusk]

Its like comparing melons to cherries: LM to Independent Local Small Business Employers (ILSBE)   The skilled workers that LM employed are not going anywhere; they are among the highest paid workers in Tarrant County; they are just idled;and will be called back.

 

The workers that ILSBE have are typically reliable pay check to pay check individuals.  I believe that you will discover that LM employees have the household income that will be able for the most part to ride this crisis out. The big corporations are aware of this, and therefore should not grab money intended for the workers who are more vulnerable than their own.

 

Lockheed Martin -finances. For the fiscal year 2019, Lockheed Martin reported earnings of $6.230 billion, with an annual revenue of $59.812 billion, an increase of 11% over the previous fiscal cycle. Backlog was 144.0 billion at the end of 2019, up from 130.5 billion at the end of the 2018.

 

And you know what; I can''t say whether LM has actually taken any money, but I am just saying: it would not look good and nor was it a good look when men took the last spots on lifeboats from women and children during the sinking of the Titanic.

[renamerusk]

I think that Washington has finally gotten the message!

 

Fort Worth Business Press ( ) -  https://fortworthbus...plication-line/

[Doohickie]

General Dynamics and Lockheed are not the same.  These corporations have defense contracts that are untouchable into infinity.

You ever hear of the A-12 program?

[Doohickie]

Its like comparing melons to cherries: LM to Independent Local Small Business Employers (ILSBE)   The skilled workers that LM employed are not going anywhere; they are among the highest paid workers in Tarrant County; they are just idled;and will be called back.

 

The workers that ILSBE have are typically reliable pay check to pay check individuals.  I believe that you will discover that LM employees have the household income that will be able for the most part to ride this crisis out. The big corporations are aware of this, and therefore should not grab money intended for the workers who are more vulnerable than their own.

 

Lockheed Martin -finances. For the fiscal year 2019, Lockheed Martin reported earnings of $6.230 billion, with an annual revenue of $59.812 billion, an increase of 11% over the previous fiscal cycle. Backlog was 144.0 billion at the end of 2019, up from 130.5 billion at the end of the 2018.

 

And you know what; I can''t say whether LM has actually taken any money, but I am just saying: it would not look good and nor was it a good look when men took the last spots on lifeboats from women and children during the sinking of the Titanic.

Sir, there are so many inaccuracies and downright lies in that post, I don't even know where to begin.  Please, don't talk about stuff you don't know about.

[roverone]

My main point to bring up about the historic local defense contractors was not about the current situation, but rather about this false notion the corporations with large market caps have some loyalty to their employees -- this is just not true.  It seems Doohickie has some similar experiences to my own to know this.

 

Without extra incentives, there is no guarantee that any employer will retain the employee relationship no matter their percieved wealth.

 

The core thing I was trying to say is that I don't understand the outrage about a company that employs 10,000 people using PPP to sustain the employment relationship, comparied 500 smaller companies uses PPP to sustain the employment relationship with 20 employees each.

 

Are there cheaters? Yes, I'm certain there are, but I don't think we exactly know who they are at this point.

 

I'm for doing whatever we can do to retain the employee / employer relationship through this, because that it the best chance of being able to resume where we left off (not that that is going to be possible even in the best of cases).

 

Losing a job is losing a job, whether it is with a small business or a huge business.  And I could argue that the loss of a job from a huge business is probably just a little worse because the chance of future loss of that job might be a little more for a small business.

[renamerusk]

So many inaccuracies and lies?  You can either point out where you disagree by offering a counter argument to correct these so call inaccuracies or keep your tongue in check. You don't know me well enough to call me a liar. Having read most if not all of your comments, I know that you are better than that.The FWF has always been a welcoming forum. In my long association with the FWF, there have been disagreements about information, but I can not remember any member who knowing put out false information simply to lie in winning an discussion.

 

Everything in my thread is based upon reasonably accepted knowns.  Decades before you move to Fort Worth, some members of my family and many friends were working at GD. Their wages were among the highest paid workers in Fort Worth.  The US Department of Labor or some Division therein,  publishes a report that stipulates that an estimate upwards of 60% of households do not have enough money to cover a $400 emergency and that many of the ILSBE are living from paycheck to paycheck. What about these knowns are in dispute or can these be the lies being told?

[renamerusk]

.....The core thing I was trying to say is that I don't understand the outrage about a company that employs 10,000 people using PPP to sustain the employment relationship, comparied 500 smaller companies uses PPP to sustain the employment relationship with 20 employees each....

 

 It helps to keep up with current events.  It is hardly an acceptable excuse to not be paying close attention to $4T going out of Washington.

 

An additional $250B dollars has been made necessary because the large corporations have the means and the influence with banks to grab up all the money for themselves which has left many desperate small mom and pop businesses (local diners, florists, repairs shops) still finding it impossible to get emergency funding after 30 days has past since the first $500B was allocated.  There is a film "The Wolves of Wall Street" which an eye opener. Unfortunately, America's truly small businesses are the lambs.

 

House Set to Pass New Stimulus With Plans to Dole Out More - Bloomberg

 

The small local businesses are being devastated and face the loss of their entire investment due to something that they had no responsibility for.  LM will always be profitable and operating; it is designated as an essential industry because of its role in the national defense.  I was sure to point out that IDK whether LM had done anything to deserve shaming. Of course, why would LM need because of its very special relationship with DOD. But yeah, I do get some of what you are saying.

[renamerusk]

 

.....The core thing I was trying to say is that I don't understand the outrage about a company that employs 10,000 people using PPP to sustain the employment relationship, comparied 500 smaller companies uses PPP to sustain the employment relationship with 20 employees each....

 

 .... the large corporations have the means and the influence with banks to grab up all the money for themselves which has left many desperate small mom and pop businesses (local di

 

The small local businesses are being devastated and face the loss of their entire investment due to something that they had no responsibility for.  LM will always be profitable and operating; it is designated as an essential industry because of its role in the national defense.  I was sure to point out that IDK whether LM had done anything to deserve shaming. Of course, why would LM need because of its very special relationship with DOD. But yeah, I do get some of what you are saying.

 It has gotten through!  Money for those small businesses which are actually hurting the most.

 

Fort Worth Business Press -https://fortworthbus...es-cash-grants/

 

Something that seems to be happening is how some large corporations are using the pandemic also as a way to radically cut labor expense and increasing productivity with fewer employees.

 

For instance, CVS implemented a policy of issuing redeemable coupon for future purchases instead of refunding a charge in cash or credit to your debit/credit card.  CVS's excuse given to me by the clerk: Corvid-19!

[ramjet]

 

 

.....The core thing I was trying to say is that I don't understand the outrage about a company that employs 10,000 people using PPP to sustain the employment relationship, comparied 500 smaller companies uses PPP to sustain the employment relationship with 20 employees each....

 

 .... the large corporations have the means and the influence with banks to grab up all the money for themselves which has left many desperate small mom and pop businesses (local di

 

The small local businesses are being devastated and face the loss of their entire investment due to something that they had no responsibility for.  LM will always be profitable and operating; it is designated as an essential industry because of its role in the national defense.  I was sure to point out that IDK whether LM had done anything to deserve shaming. Of course, why would LM need because of its very special relationship with DOD. But yeah, I do get some of what you are saying.

 It has gotten through!  Money for those small businesses which are actually hurting the most. 

 

Something that seems to be happening is how some large corporations are using the pandemic also as a way to radically cut labor expense and increasing productivity with fewer employees.

 

For instance, CVS implemented a policy of issuing redeemable coupon for future purchases instead of refunding a charge in cash or credit to your debit/credit card.  CVS's excuse given to me by the clerk: Corvid-19!

 

Just learned through my insurance company that CVS vastly overcharges both insurance companies and customers for prescriptions compared to Walmart, Kroger, HEB, Costco, et.al.  CVS is headquartered in Rhode Island.  (Do people actually live in Rhode Island these days?). Sickening gangsters they are.  And CVS still doesn't have toilet paper here in Austin.  Thank goodness for HEB.  They are fully stocked with everything.  Sorry Fort Worth is HEB-less for now.  HEB takes care of Texans where they are located.

[Doohickie]

It seems Doohickie has some similar experiences to my own to know this.

Yes, I've been laid off by defense contractors.  And auto suppliers too.  The early to mid-90s was a challenging time.