So COVID is showing is what isn’t all that needed for the economy.
Like restaurants, theaters, etc. Sure, they’re nice to have, but no one should get into these businesses assuming sustainability.
So what else is not all that essential, and what, it turns out, is more essential than we realized?
I was thinking about dry cleaners the other day. I bet they’re really struggling right now, especially in places where full service laundry isn’t really a thing.
Essential: Netflix and ubereats
Not essential: leaving the house
How are you defining “essential”? If were were willing to take a huge hit in population, we could go back to the only really “essential” businesses being “hunting” and “gathering”.
Define it however you want.
Well, I wouldn’t go so far to say that, say, dry cleaning on the whole is not essential, but it’s possible we don’t need as many as we used to. Same for restaurants (ones that specialize in presentation and atmosphere), office buildings, movie theaters, shopping malls, etc.
Also, I’ll take issue with anyone thinking THEIR business needs to thrive or even to stay open to hordes of people in a closed space, because they think it’s essential. Most of the small business owners I’ve seen (TV, friend with a bar) just want to make their nut, and nuts to society.
Or,…
I don’t want to discuss what essential businesses are.
Just that I think this is indicative that Trump will actually leave office, unlike what the paranoids believe.
Yeah, I didn’t mean that dry cleaning is essential at all. I was thinking more about this part:
I’d strongly disagree with your premise. Without restaurants and other form of entertainment, suicidial thoughts and depression are skyrocketing. These things are quite essential, and we are going to regret not doing more to keep these places afloat.
sucks that one of my favorite restaurants in nyc closed for good due to covid. they do have another location though. hopefully that one doesn’t close too.
I think what’s hard is seclusion, and those things are what we became accustomed to for entertainment, so their absence are driving depression. But I think we could be fine as a society without dine-in restaurants or karaoke bars, we would simply find different ways to be together. Change is hard, especially rapid change, but we could find a new normal that doesn’t involve the Cheesecake Factory, I think. I hope we don’t have to.
Also I think our lack of access to affordable mental health care is also not helping with suicide rates and depression/anxiety.
I think we could find a much better society with restaurants still around but the big box ‘essential’ stores all gone away.
No convincing needed there.
(Except for Target, of course. I met Mr. NA there and it’s my happy place)
But part of it is also people wanting things when they can’t get them. Just like drugs. And chinese people with authentic chinese food in the US.
If there are no Cheesecake Factories, where are we actuarials supposed to go for upscale dining??? 
Which department?
The shoe section
I’d like to see data on this. Suicidal thoughts have been pretty high during covid but there’s a lot of reasons for that. Meanwhile suicide rates have been high and climbing for the last 20 years, and it’s not like 21st century America lacks for entertainment.
Thanks for the details. Nothing related to restaurants here, though problems are a lot higher for essential care workers, unpaid caregivers, and interestingly: the employed.