Q&A of the Day – The Challenges South Florida’s businesses face
Each day I’ll feature a listener question that’s been submitted by one of these methods.
Email: brianmudd@iheartmedia.com
Twitter: @brianmuddradio
Facebook: Brian Mudd https://www.facebook.com/brian.mudd1
Today’s entry: Dear Brian, Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez announced a mandatory closure of all bars and restaurants by 11 PM, and a reduction of 50 percent in seating capacity. I work for several restaurants / bars. The potential in doing this will quickly have an adverse effect of these businesses and employees. The expenses involved in operating bars / restaurants are enormous. They depend on a volume of customers to stay in business. If this policy is enforced it could quickly put some restaurants out of business, and leave others in dire straights. Politicians are creating a scenario where the cure is worse than the disease. I sent Gimenez an email, and hope we can get the mayor to drop this mandate ASAP.
Bottom Line: I hear your concerns loud and clear and they’re warranted. It’s why I began encouraging all of us to make a point to patronize our favorite local businesses weeks ago. I didn’t know exactly when serious disruptions would begin, but I knew there would be a significant hit for most local businesses. Here’s the unfortunate reality. There aren’t any ideal answers. Most businesses and most Americans will earn less money. There’s no way around it. This is why the Federal Reserve has cut interest rates to zero to reduce borrowing costs. Its why President Trump has waived interest payments on student loans. It’s why the stock market is in a bear market. Its why Congress is putting finishing touches on legislation aimed at providing assistance to millions of Americans that are among the most vulnerable and why the Trump administration has already begun working on the next aimed to help businesses which have essentially been temporarily put out of business. This is hurting many already and will hurt others. There’s no way around it but what’s most important is that we stay healthy waiting this virus out.
In terms of the specific decisions impacting small businesses, I agree with Mayor Gimenez’s decision (and similar decisions by other local officials throughout South Florida). The current guidance from the CDC is to prevent all gatherings of 50 or more people. Busy restaurants and bars certainly fit this category - especially with employees factored in. First, it’s likely far fewer people will be out and about patronizing local businesses the same way anyway. Second, with travel severely limited and Spring Break effectively over for several beaches and communities already, there’s no way to avoid fewer visitors coming to our local businesses. Then there’s the responsibility of businesses to act as responsibly as possible.
Current guidance from the WHO suggests the virus can live for up to three days on surfaces and three hours in air. It’s important for all businesses to have the time and ability to effectively clean and sanitize their establishment. One infected person could literally infect everyone who’d come into a particular establishment for a few days in a worst-case scenario. And that takes me to liability. Let’s say local officials weren’t limiting business activity and businesses operated as usual resulting in a patron or multiple patrons becoming ill. Not only could that mean unnecessarily illnesses (or potentially worse), it could also open the business up to liability. Rest assured there would be attorney’s lining up to take on a company which doesn’t follow federal guidelines that result in illness or death. In other words, what’s been ordered is in the best interest of businesses as well. Most are stuck between a rock and a hard place. This is the world’s hurricane. It’s a slow mover, we don’t know exactly how fast it will move, how extensive the damage will be or if whole communities will be different afterwards. It’s possible. But we can control what we control and the most important thing is that we keep ourselves, our families and our communities as safe and healthy as possible. Doing so will also help us get past this threat as quickly as possible.
The state has rolled out a series of new programs aimed at helping Florida’s businesses and will act as a conduit for future federal assistance. The website is Floridadisaster.biz. All Florida based businesses are encouraged to use the site. And yes, as it makes sense to do so, please patronize your favorite local businesses because unfortunately many of them will be at risk of closing permanently during this public health crisis.