Are Things Opening Up in Your Neck of the Woods? - UPDATE
Are things finally opening up in your neck of the woods? Here in Metro New York, the clampdowns remain in force. But elsewhere, even within short driving distance, some small businesses have been "allowed" to get on with the business of business. Gee, thanks.
As a small business owner, still in lockdown mode, I'm just taking it day-to-day. Since my own business doesn't rely heavily on my working in an office outside the home, or physically engaging with people, or manufacturing products in a factory, the impact of this mess hasn't been terrible. But it has had an impact nevertheless. So I'm hoping the beginnings of "opening up" will result in some better days ahead.
Then again, with so many people out of work, it's hard to see how opening up will dramatically improve the economy. We could be stuck in a rut for a while - maybe a long time.
Apparently, one way some companies have dealt with the slow down in businessis to do something economic theory deemed inappropriate if not impossible: the cutting of worker's wages during a recession. The theory in the past has been that employers would be better off just letting go of workers rather than cut their wages. And that's pretty much held true. The idea was if you cut wages, you'd have lots of complaining, miserable workers. Better to just jettison some and keep those who would keep their regular wages. You'd have fewer workers. But they'd be grateful to be holding on to their jobs and their money. So you'd have somewhat of a strong base to help you survive and upon which you could eventually rebuild.
This wage cut thing is not an across the board practice. Only a few companies are known to have done this. The incidents I read about were characterized as "anecdotal" by the author reporting them. So we may not hear much more about this. On the other hand, if enough companies take this approach, we may find a whole new approach to handling recessions.
What's behind this approach is the idea of "sharing," with maybe a smidge of "We're in this together." And, you know what, that's not such a bad idea - even if it is heretical according to accepted economic theory. In fact, if you think about it, there may even be a touch of "Christian charity" in it. Heresy?
Not to pat myself on the back, but during one stretch of time, I paid an employee an amount that required the sacrifice of some of my "draws" against profits. (I function as a sole proprietor.) I didn't starve. Frankly, it wasn't even much of an inconvenience. And, oh right, it was for a family member in need. (How could I not do it?) The profits of the business would just have to suffer a bit. All in all, I found it to be a satisfactory arrangement from every angle. So did my employee.
I thought of it in the same way you'd think of getting everyone in the family to chip in when the kids are growing up. If you have kids, you likely have made sure they chip in around the house, right? Why not in business, especially during this mess?
Looked at this way it's simply an extension of our personal lives. But it could very well serve a very practical purpose. If everyone's chipping in, if everyone's sacrificing a bit, then maybe they're more likely to go the extra mile to see to it that the business doesn't fail. It may even emerge from this mess more successfully than ever. But even if it only gets back to square zero, it's better than going out of business, right?
But despite the practical effects, let's not skip over the charity involved here. I think you've set the stage for real charity to emerge, aside from the practical economic benefits. Imagine charity playing a role in business! But why not? And what better time for charity to grow than during this mess?
With all that in mind and some further consideration, I think the prevailing economic theory not only falls short of charity but fails in its own right to adequately address the challenges of a recession. The fact is, when people are laid off, my experience has been that those who remain work strictly out of fear of losing their jobs. It's a miserable way to work.
So how about a little more heresy? Why not everyone tries this chipping in, we're all in this together approach? Wouldn't real charity serve as a better base on which to struggle for survival? Wouldn't charity provide the same solid - maybe even a better - foundation on which to build for the future once this mess gets sorted out - whenever that might be?
It couldn't hurt.
UPDATE:
We've never really wanted to engage in current events on an immediate, urgent basis. Our goal is to help us work our way to Heaven, not to report on the day's news. Today's post was written last week, before the current riots broke out. But I think it's important to at least acknowledge a few things, even as we suck it up and get to work today:
The rioting and looting (as opposed to the peaceful demonstrating) have nothing to do with the cop killing that guy in Minneapolis. These are well-coordinated, planned attacks. If you're not clear on this, you need to perk up and pay attention.
Simply put, this is war. The people engaging this violence would like to overthrow our government. They've tried before, but never at this level. They will try again if and when the current chaos if finally quelled.
Meanwhile, we do our best to go about our business in the midst of what is now not only this C-virus World, but an outright war on the streets.
For now, that's all I've got to say. There's so much going on. But, again, I've got to get to work today, despite it all.
As a small business owner, still in lockdown mode, I'm just taking it day-to-day. Since my own business doesn't rely heavily on my working in an office outside the home, or physically engaging with people, or manufacturing products in a factory, the impact of this mess hasn't been terrible. But it has had an impact nevertheless. So I'm hoping the beginnings of "opening up" will result in some better days ahead.
Then again, with so many people out of work, it's hard to see how opening up will dramatically improve the economy. We could be stuck in a rut for a while - maybe a long time.
Apparently, one way some companies have dealt with the slow down in businessis to do something economic theory deemed inappropriate if not impossible: the cutting of worker's wages during a recession. The theory in the past has been that employers would be better off just letting go of workers rather than cut their wages. And that's pretty much held true. The idea was if you cut wages, you'd have lots of complaining, miserable workers. Better to just jettison some and keep those who would keep their regular wages. You'd have fewer workers. But they'd be grateful to be holding on to their jobs and their money. So you'd have somewhat of a strong base to help you survive and upon which you could eventually rebuild.
This wage cut thing is not an across the board practice. Only a few companies are known to have done this. The incidents I read about were characterized as "anecdotal" by the author reporting them. So we may not hear much more about this. On the other hand, if enough companies take this approach, we may find a whole new approach to handling recessions.
What's behind this approach is the idea of "sharing," with maybe a smidge of "We're in this together." And, you know what, that's not such a bad idea - even if it is heretical according to accepted economic theory. In fact, if you think about it, there may even be a touch of "Christian charity" in it. Heresy?
Not to pat myself on the back, but during one stretch of time, I paid an employee an amount that required the sacrifice of some of my "draws" against profits. (I function as a sole proprietor.) I didn't starve. Frankly, it wasn't even much of an inconvenience. And, oh right, it was for a family member in need. (How could I not do it?) The profits of the business would just have to suffer a bit. All in all, I found it to be a satisfactory arrangement from every angle. So did my employee.
I thought of it in the same way you'd think of getting everyone in the family to chip in when the kids are growing up. If you have kids, you likely have made sure they chip in around the house, right? Why not in business, especially during this mess?
Looked at this way it's simply an extension of our personal lives. But it could very well serve a very practical purpose. If everyone's chipping in, if everyone's sacrificing a bit, then maybe they're more likely to go the extra mile to see to it that the business doesn't fail. It may even emerge from this mess more successfully than ever. But even if it only gets back to square zero, it's better than going out of business, right?
But despite the practical effects, let's not skip over the charity involved here. I think you've set the stage for real charity to emerge, aside from the practical economic benefits. Imagine charity playing a role in business! But why not? And what better time for charity to grow than during this mess?
With all that in mind and some further consideration, I think the prevailing economic theory not only falls short of charity but fails in its own right to adequately address the challenges of a recession. The fact is, when people are laid off, my experience has been that those who remain work strictly out of fear of losing their jobs. It's a miserable way to work.
So how about a little more heresy? Why not everyone tries this chipping in, we're all in this together approach? Wouldn't real charity serve as a better base on which to struggle for survival? Wouldn't charity provide the same solid - maybe even a better - foundation on which to build for the future once this mess gets sorted out - whenever that might be?
It couldn't hurt.
UPDATE:
We've never really wanted to engage in current events on an immediate, urgent basis. Our goal is to help us work our way to Heaven, not to report on the day's news. Today's post was written last week, before the current riots broke out. But I think it's important to at least acknowledge a few things, even as we suck it up and get to work today:
The rioting and looting (as opposed to the peaceful demonstrating) have nothing to do with the cop killing that guy in Minneapolis. These are well-coordinated, planned attacks. If you're not clear on this, you need to perk up and pay attention.
Simply put, this is war. The people engaging this violence would like to overthrow our government. They've tried before, but never at this level. They will try again if and when the current chaos if finally quelled.
Meanwhile, we do our best to go about our business in the midst of what is now not only this C-virus World, but an outright war on the streets.
For now, that's all I've got to say. There's so much going on. But, again, I've got to get to work today, despite it all.
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