By week 2, unemployment went from 3% to 10%.


It really hasn't occurred to most of you that businesses fail from not engaging in business.  This just tells me the socialist indoctrination centers (schools) have utterly failed to explain how business works.

And let me stick in a note here that no matter what you think of the type of business, they have employees who suffer first.  Go ahead and get your hate-on about whomever, but the wage earners will be out of jobs.

Most businesses operate on tiny margins, especially stores and restaurants.  Now, restaurants that can do takeout are managing, mostly (at reduced capacity and with reduced employees). But fine dining establishments or sit-down-only ethnic restaurants aren't. They're closed. That means no income for any of the owners or employees, followed shortly by no income for the landlord, who is also probably a small business, so stow your socialist-indoctrinated hate.

Keep in mind that every one that fails means unemployed workers as well.  And just because YOU can find a workaround for their product, doesn't put money in THEIR pocket.

Here's a partial list I will expand: 

Theaters, who have managers, ushers, concessionaires, ticket takers.

Restaurants and bars who have managers, cooks, servers, cleaners.

Restaurants need food suppliers. If they're not selling food, they're not ordering food from the suppliers. (One corresepondent reports his factory produces sliced cheese.  80% drop in orders with so many restaurants closed or doing less business.)

Specialty retailers--bookstores, hobby stores.

Hotels--no one is renting rooms if they're not traveling for leisure or business. Hotels employ maintenance, housekeepers, clerks, often entertainers.

Convention facilities--who have lots of overhead, and lots of staff and/or contractors for support, displays, decorations, etc.

Venues for music or live theater.

Gyms aren't getting anything without guests and attendees.

MUSICIANS, ACTORS AND OTHER PERFORMERS for whom you've cancelled literally every gig in the next quarter. I know a couple of bona-fide rock stars, who don't earn nearly as much as you think they do, who have to hold out until JUNE hoping for potential shows. Their entire tours have been cancelled.

Event planners for weddings and other events. There's no venues to hold them in.

Anything tourism related--retailers, guides, other activities.

Transportation related to those--airlines (already taking massive hits), tour buses.

Since I write SF, I assume a number of readers do. At least two SF literary conventions have already quit for good.  They can't afford to hold everything over another year. They're done permanently.  That's more hotel room-nights and concessions not being used next year.

With all those closed, beverage and food concessionaires and distributors are out of work.

Within days, trucking and delivery companies for anything other than the essentials.

Oh, yes--by this point the state is missing out on millions or billions of sales tax revenues that never happened.

There are already lawsuits against insurers. If they have to pay out enough, they close. That will be the smaller insurers, leaving only a few big ones to negotiate with. Who will also lay off people when there are fewer businesses needing insurance.

https://fashionunited.uk/news/fashion/the-unseen-victims-of-fashion-s-multi-billion-dollar-order-cancellations/2020040148261 Already (two weeks in) entire factories in Bangladesh are shutting down. The women working there don't have other options for supporting their families. 

Now, any single one of these is manageable by the whole, it only sucks rocks for the families in question. But ALL of them are in the process of failing right now. Fortunately, my convention retail business is my part time fun job, but I'm out at least $20,000 in sales for the first half of the year. So far. For people for whom this is their livelihood, I know of several with literally nothing, no income at all, and a $1200 check isn't going to fix it. There's been at least one suicide in my circle, and hotlines report increasing numbers all over. I guess if you don't care how many people you kill to save people, you have a really confusing thought process.

Accountants and payroll companies won't be doing well soon, either. A good number of their clients are going out of business and won't need their services.

In a few weeks:

Lots of car payments have been missed, and there's less of a market for new cars for certain, and probably a glut of used cars. Buyer's market. So car dealers are suffering. I know, a good number of them suck, but it still means their families are short of food and money. Mechanics may do well, maintaining cars for those who can afford them.  Dealers and manufacturers are going to take a bite. That's more layoffs.

The restaurants that did stay open are going to struggle at this point. Who has money to spend out? So they're going to lay off even more people.

The food demand drop is going to affect farms and ranches.

And once the economy is on a slide like that, it just keeps going. Experts are predicting worse than the Great Depression.  
https://www.newsweek.com/covid-19-could-cost-us-7-trillion-cause-worst-job-losses-since-depression-professor-estimates-1493673

Doctors are knowledgeable about medicine. Do you know who the most famous doctor put in charge of an economy was?
Che Guevara, in Cuba. Okay, so a racist, homophobic, hypocritical murderous thug isn't really a valid comparison. But he knew nothing of economics and it showed. The CDC should not be making economic policy.

The point is there are ZERO non-essential jobs in even our nominally free (though massively government controlled) market.  If a job doesn't generate income, it goes away.

The question comes down to: How many people are you willing to starve and murder over a virus that the experts agree won't be significantly worse than the four previous major viruses, in the last half century?  And if you can't name them without looking, then your opinion is irrelevant.

EVERY business is essential to the owner, the employees, and the families.

Any politician speaking of a "non-essential" business is an idiot and should be removed from office. Because lamppost decorators need work, too.

ADDENDUM:

https://www.451alliance.com/ 
"VAST DISRUPTIONS AHEAD IN EMPLOYMENT DISTRIBUTION

The US economic outlook depends largely on the degree that businesses respond to the pandemic crisis by laying off workers. Until recently, they have largely avoided the tactic. But as so much demand has vanished almost instantaneously, the pressure on companies to reduce costs is urgent.

The five sectors experiencing the most direct and immediate collapse in demand or facing government-mandated shutdowns because of coronavirus are air transportation; performing arts and sports; gambling and recreation; hotels and other lodging; and restaurants and bars. Together, they accounted for $574 billion in total employee compensation in 2018, about 10% of the total, and spread among 13.8 million full-time equivalent workers. Unemployment claims are expected to skyrocket in the coming weeks."

~

As far as the socialist bleating about "2 million deaths" and "companies with sketchy priorities," feeding our families IS our priority. Feel free to start writing checks.

To prove my first point, some idiot in comments claims "this is capitalism" and I "should be down with it."

It is not capitalism when socialists order your business closed at gunpoint.