Nail Salons? Tattoo Parlors? Really?
So the grand experiment begins... with nail salons and tattoo parlors? The state of Georgia has announced that all of these establishments can reopen on Friday, part of the Republican "Damn the consequences, reopen the economy!" strategy. And you can bet all the other states will be watching to see what happens with great interest.
It all seems somewhat insane, of course. Why in the world would anyone want to put tattoo parlors at the front of the line, when getting a tattoo involves bleeding? That seems inherently risky, even riskier than hair and nail salons, which will also involve close physical contact with customers -- but at least no bloodletting.
To be fair, perhaps the media has just focused on the most ridiculous, in a reductio ad absurdum kind of way. Not unlike those who scour lists of federal grants to highlight what seems like the most ridiculous, perhaps the media is ignoring all sorts of other (more normal) businesses in order to highlight the spas, beauty salons, and tattoo parlors. But they certainly stand out as rather ridiculous things to include in the first wave of business reopenings.
There is a bigger question that remains unanswered, and that is whether all these businesses will actually reopen when given the green light. After all, it is not the decision of the federal, state, or local government to do so, it is the decision of each individual business owner. The government can give the green light to do so, but that is not the same thing as somehow "ordering" the businesses to reopen. And my guess is that more than a few businesses -- even in the handful of states that are rushing to reopen -- are going to play it safe and take a wait-and-see attitude. Especially those businesses where close personal contact is an inherent part of their services.
There is also another factor that nobody's yet examined, and that is whether the customers will come back right away. Personally, if I lived in a state that reopened too early (or "what I considered to be too early," to be accurate), I would also take a wait-and-see attitude for at least the first two or three weeks. Cabin fever is one thing, but taking needless risks to go shop for nonessential products and services right now doesn't really seem like all that good of an idea. And I can't be alone in this viewpoint. How many Georgians are really going to be lining up to get new tattoos this Friday?
We will probably soon hear some hoo-hah from Donald Trump about how downright patriotic shopping is. Many will compare this to George W. Bush's call to go shopping after 9/11, but the situation is in no way comparable. Terrorism isn't quite the same thing as a medical pandemic, to state the painfully obvious.
What will worry me the most while this grand reopening experiment is being conducted is how much we can trust the numbers about to come out of these states. There are already vast disparities from state to state in terms of how many tests have been performed (and, more importantly, how they stack up against each other when measured per capita). Will the states that reopen first decide to limit testing even further, to avoid seeing their numbers spike? Now that the whole thing is political and not just medical, there will be an incentive to underreport the numbers in the early reopened states. Will they even bother to perform the widespread antibody testing that the experts say is absolutely necessary to track the spread of the disease? Or will they only make half-hearted efforts to do so (as indeed, some states have already done with the testing that is now available)?
Maybe I worry too much. Maybe the health departments even in deep red states are committed to truth and honesty and good science. Maybe the governors who are now rushing to reopen will actually look at the data and decide to dial back if the numbers begin to spike once again. Maybe.
One thing that seems certain now is that the rest of the country will be watching very closely to see what does happen. So far, only a handful of states, most of them in the South, have announced reopening schedules. If the other states decide to wait at least a few weeks before following suit, then that means there won't be all that many of them who have reopened to keep track of. This will help focus the rest of the country's attention onto whatever happens next in those states.
Donald Trump, of course, is going to be perfectly willing to throw all these Republican governors under the bus if things go wrong. He's set the whole system up the way he did in order to do so, in fact. If things go right, Trump will without doubt claim all of the success for himself, but if they don't he's already set up his scapegoats to take the fall, whether they are fellow Republicans or not. He already appears to be hedging his bets somewhat, by questioning whether reopening "spas and beauty salons and tattoo parlors and barber shops in phase one is just too soon," and even adding, "they can wait a little longer." Because even Donald Trump is finding it hard to justify putting tattoo parlors at the head of the reopening line, it seems.
-- Chris Weigant
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
The Georgia governor put in place a stay-at-home order to, presumably, suppress the virus. So, as he is partially removing some of those stay-at-home restrictions, what is he replacing them with?
What is he going to do to keep the suppression of the virus at the current level, at least, as businesses begin to reopen?
After all, you can't replace part of a stay-at-home order with nothing.
And, I believe president Trump just threw the Georgia governor under the bus as he spoke from the WH briefing this evening, didn't he?
Chris,
He already appears to be hedging his bets somewhat, by questioning whether reopening "spas and beauty salons and tattoo parlors and barber shops in phase one is just too soon," and even adding, "they can wait a little longer." Because even Donald Trump is finding it hard to justify putting tattoo parlors at the head of the reopening line, it seems.
Indeed. :)
After a couple of weeks of this partial reopening and looking at the data, maybe the Governor will act, in consultation with health experts and the business community, to go back to the full stay-at-home order and use the time to strengthen the healthcare systems in his state to be able to test, isolate, contact trace and quarantine, thereby setting a good example for the Las Vegas mayor.
Stranger things have already happened.
How much longer will Mitch McConnell be in office, do you suppose. Because he has said things that should disqualify him from holding any political office in the USA.
Before we go another step I must say, Chris Weigant, that I appreciate the frequency of late of your bending to the task.
Keep rocking it, Comrade.
He is top notch!
An intestering article [NYTimes] on how social distancing became US policy. Gotta say: Thanks W...
Real time tracking of the Coronavirus. Where it's coming from and how it is mutating.
"The government can give the green light to do so, but that is not the same thing as somehow "ordering" the businesses to reopen. And my guess is that more than a few businesses -- even in the handful of states that are rushing to reopen -- are going to play it safe and take a wait-and-see attitude."
The USA is in a deep recession. A large fraction of the citizens are out of work and broke. The $1200 stimulus was spent on rent, utilities and food...or commandeered by the bank to cover debts.
Consumer demand for necessities, let alone frills is going to be weak. Supplies needed to run a small business are going to be scarce and expensive. Is this a good time to risk your money on reopening a bowling alley, a hair salon or even a tattoo parlor? I think not. Is a bank going to be inclined to give them credit? Same answer.
Without some form of consumer stimulus the economy is going to continue to drift thru recession long after the epidemic has burned out...once or twice. The recession is going to spread from bottom to top as consumer demand flops like landed fish. I can't see Republican's stomaching a New Deal solution. World War III? -maybe-if not by design, by accident. Dear Leader Trump is an accident waiting to happen.
Good time to hold an election.
CW: Donald Trump, of course, is going to be perfectly willing to throw all these Republican governors under the bus if things go wrong. He's set the whole system up the way he did in order to do so, in fact.
Exactly right. Donald Trump will do what he always does and blow hot and cold, taking both sides of the issue:
Donald is still simultaneously trying desperately to downplay the severity of the coronavirus while at the same time egging on the Trump cult sheeple to demonstrate against the Blue State governors while "jawboning" the Red State governors to open full steam ahead, and then true to form, he naturally throws the obedient Trump chumps all under the bus. #SSDD
In real time yesterday, Donald Trump was flailing in his efforts to get the doctors to downplay the severity of the virus yet again by saying it might not come back in the fall... forget about the fact that something can't "come back" until it's gone away in the first place, and it's gone nowhere and indeed is just getting ramped up in certain areas right now. And there's Trump, who genuinely doesn't care about anyone's future... just his own reelection, and he'll throw anyone and everyone under the bus to get that because he's a con, a criminal, and a turncoat.
So to recap: Donald Trump held out his finger and proclaimed to the world that he could "stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody" and "wouldn't lose any voters," but I would wager those "voters" never suspected they'd be the "somebody" that Benedict Donald was willing to shoot the finger.
EM
1
After all, you can't replace part of a stay-at-home order with nothing.
Good point.
And, I believe president Trump just threw the Georgia governor under the bus as he spoke from the WH briefing this evening, didn't he?
I know, right!? Because of course he did... because that's who he is, and that's who he's always been.
Don Harris
9
Your prattling BS has nothing whatsoever to do with the subject matter and everything to do with your continued trolling of the author and your same blog trolling "monomania."
So what part of the following was confusing?
Wake up. Wise up. Rise up.
Get Real.
Shut up. Shut up. Shut up.
Get Lost.
TS
10
Dear Leader Trump is an accident waiting to happen.
Morons And Grifters Administration
Let's put a lifelong self-serving money laundering lawless criminal grifter in charge of the Executive Branch. What could possibly go wrong?
Good time to hold an election.
And let the people vote, and let them vote without impediments, roadblocks, and/or disenfranchisement.
Bashi
8
Real time tracking of the Coronavirus. Where it's coming from and how it is mutating.
Wow. This is fascinating. Great link.
well, i bet they didn't allow anything REALLY vital to open. like a pie bakery, for example. CW is clearly avoiding the topic of pie for fear that he might have to change his view.
the only way to fail is not to pie.
nypoet22
17
the only way to fail is not to pie.
Yoda: You must unlearn what you have learned.
Luke: All right, I'll give it a pie.
Yoda: No. Pie not. Do… or do not. There is no pie.
Maybe the states that are reopening now have an army of contract tracers and places for quarantine set to go and have low numbers of cases which are on the decline.
Then, I wish them luck and we'll be watching to learn.
they have an army of tasters and plates for pie?
only if they have a contract.
but the places are set, right?
that depends, of course.
Donald Trump asked (out loud) on live television today if disinfectants could be directly injected into the human body to kill the novel coronavirus. Nope, not kidding:
First he pushes Plaquenil and now "disinfectant." Who'll volunteer for intravenous Clorox? No? How about some bronchoalveolar Lysol lavage? Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated.
OMG... The Trump stupidity... it burns.
HA!
Who'll volunteer for intravenous Clorox? No? How about some bronchoalveolar Lysol lavage? Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated.
Oh-o-o-o ...oh, my … that was good! HaHaHa!
Whoa … new column up … HA!