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Has anyone on this forum even been going out to restaurants or non-essential stores lately? I have been going out to eat several times a week for the last month or so and almost every place I've been to is virtually dead or at best, 25% peak capacity. The govt can reopen everything and allow tourists to come, but the volume of people that will patronize these businesses or visit our state won't be enough to keep more than 10% of them profitable.
This is not about businesses/tourism being allowed to re-open, it's about public sentiment. If the latter is not positive, the former doesn't matter. The vast majority of people don't want to go out and patronize businesses whether they are receiving $600 checks or not.
Combination of factors - residents going out less due to having less money + covid fears & because the entire island economy is based on 8 - 10 million tourists a year and the infusion of money it brings. The 1.2million residents doesn't support the amount of retail and restaurant businesses that were built even in peak economic times.
Even with some tourism, many businesses and residents will go under .The key ISNT for businesses to immediately regain profitability by opening some tourism, it's to allow businesses and residents to limp along on life support without losing their homes and permanently shutting down. The point of providing a transfusion to a car crash victim ISNT to immediately make them better as if nothing ever happened, but it's to let them survive long enough for doctors to treat them and stabilize their condition. And again, our leaders simply don't get it. In normal times, bad elected officials won't matter as much, but in times like these when we really do need good leadership, it really hurts. There is a risk to both opening in-person public schools and to opening some tourism. Choosing schools over the economy is an extremely questionable decision given how bad the economic situation is in hawaii.
People act like the $600 makes things so much better for everyone, but that really isn't the case. The only people better off is low wage earners working a single job at part or full time capacity, which is probably mostly only students in hawaii. everyone else needs a higher paying job or multiple jobs. If you are making over $65k/year salary and lost your job, you're already worse off no matter what. If you work multiple jobs and lose some of your jobs, you will be worse off. Say you make $50k/year full time job plus another 2 part time waikiki jobs paying $20k/year. If you lose the 2 PT waikiki jobs, you dont qualify for unemployment or the $600. Because there is so much uncertainty, and with the government so wishy washy, anyone with half a brain knows they should save whatever money they can.
I don't disagree. I just think that opening up is extremely complex and difficult for most businesses. They just can't hire back previously full time employees and have them work part time as they will lose all their benefits. Great way to kill that manager/owner - employee relationship right off the bat. If you had 20 employees pre-covid you often can't just choose to have 5 or 8 come back. Many times they all serve different roles and wear different hats. So opening "scaled back" is simply a non option for countless businesses.
I do agree with the logic and rationale that some tourism is better than no tourism. And I have been in full support of allowing tourists to come back to Hawaii. But if the feds pull back on financial aid because businesses have the "option" to be open because tourists are free to travel here... and therefore should not stand there with their hands out, I think "some" tourism could be economically worse than none at all.
Has anyone on this forum even been going out to restaurants or non-essential stores lately?
Went to Morton's Saturday night. Busy, not crowded. The private dining rooms have been converted to regular dining. Same with bar area - you can't just show up to go to the bar - it is part of dining room now.
They are running regular specials. Don't pay full price.
I hope they don't let one Mayor make that decision. The plan is still to open Sept. 1st. They should stick to that and let people get back to work. Or might as well stay shut for the next year.
"Certainly" we're considering making a plan. And "certainly" everything is on the table including more locals losing their homes.
I live in a condo in town, and I'll tell you this: the number of people I see moving out (presumably to shack up 15 people to a household hawaii style) and the number of "for rent" signs I see going up is frightening. Like I mentioned earlier, the realtor's association crunched some numbers, and found that 40-45% of their managed rental property rents are behind on payments or needs some sort of payment plan. That's an absolute insane figure from an organization who prefers rosy economy and real estate numbers.. If you figure the increased risk of covid infections by opening schools and opening tourism for tested people is the same, why wouldn't you open tourism instead of schools? What's the point of opening schools physically if the parents and kids get evicted? It makes no sense.
I wouldn't go as far to say he's M.R. but something is wrong with his brain. Back in spring semester, he absolutely refused to close schools until he was forced to with parents, teachers, unions all screaming at him. Now he's pressing forward with reopening madness with no clear plan or direction, confusing guidelines as far as distancing, mask usage, etc. union and teachers against in-class sessions, good portion of parents against it, etc.
Looks like Congress is pushing to pass some other legislation (the talk is another $1,200 cash infusion, among other benefits that I haven't delved too deep into yet), so Hawaii may be spared the worst if the federal unemployment benefits get extended.
As for the lawsuits over the governor's executive order dealing with whether the order expired after 60 days, I wouldn't rely on liberal judges to invalidate the order on that ground. In any case, if the order is invalidated, most practically it would simply mean that people arrested and charged for violating ROM (or otherwise fined for violating the terms of the executive order) after the initial 60 days expiration would have their records expunged as there would have been no legal basis to arrest/fine them. But the governor would simply be free to issue a new 60 days order going forward, though.
Looks like Congress is pushing to pass some other legislation (the talk is another $1,200 cash infusion, among other benefits that I haven't delved too deep into yet), so Hawaii may be spared the worst if the federal unemployment benefits get extended.
Looking like the best chance to pass is an extra $200/week - which in Hawaii doesn't go very far.
I'm starting to see fallout in other sectors you wouldn't necessarily expect, seeing some gas stations closed (or out of business) - I suppose with so few people driving nowadays. While refreshing to not have a rush hour anymore - I can see that having an impact on businesses.
Looking like the best chance to pass is an extra $200/week - which in Hawaii doesn't go very far.
I'm starting to see fallout in other sectors you wouldn't necessarily expect, seeing some gas stations closed (or out of business) - I suppose with so few people driving nowadays. While refreshing to not have a rush hour anymore - I can see that having an impact on businesses.
Hawaii's case aside for a second, I will say that $200 a week is probably more fair and in line with how things should be for the nation; the $600 a week was making a whole lot of people better off on unemployment than they were at their normal jobs, which certainly didn't incentivize returning to work (many stories on this). If that's all people are going to get, I hope that folks were saving up some of the extra $2400 a month in federal unemployment as it's about to get rough!
That's interesting about gas stations (makes sense). I know that many insurance companies were offering people some of their premium money back due to people driving less (I got back like $80 from USAA I think). Haven't seen any go under on the mainland, though.
Hawaii's case aside for a second, I will say that $200 a week is probably more fair and in line with how things should be for the nation; the $600 a week was making a whole lot of people better off on unemployment than they were at their normal jobs, which certainly didn't incentivize returning to work (many stories on this). If that's all people are going to get, I hope that folks were saving up some of the extra $2400 a month in federal unemployment as it's about to get rough!
That's interesting about gas stations (makes sense). I know that many insurance companies were offering people some of their premium money back due to people driving less (I got back like $80 from USAA I think). Haven't seen any go under on the mainland, though.
I will agree to this.
Sad to say, but the best chances to actually get things going in hawaii is for NO stimulus to pass. The reason why the lawmakers got away with doing nothing so far is because of the federal handouts. You take that away and people will be screaming at ige and his henchmen.
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