Essential Businesses

I wrote this yesterday, and got a lot of “Likes” on Facebook, along with dozens of comments in various groups I frequent.  Here’s what I think.

Facebook asks “What’s on your mind, Rick?”

Well, here you go.

“Essential Businesses”

Why are some people getting letters to “be out on the street” and others are not? Because they are “essential employees”. Like fast food, or restaurants. Or grocery stores. Gas stations. Liquor stores. Weed stores (in Colorado, we’re not just talking about medical either….)

What about barbers? Hair stylists? What about the local auto parts place, auto repair, what about a tire shop? What about any other businesses?

Seriously?

This is America. The United States of America. This is not Venezuela. This ain’t Cuba. This is NOT some Socialist country. This is a Capitalist country, contrary to what most want you to think. (Yeah, I keep hearing the bull crap about “Oh, that Social Security is Socialism!” – no, it is an involuntary removal of my hard earned monies as a type of a tax, which they never intended to give back to me, in the hopes I’d be dead “waiting to get the maximum amount at 75 years old….)

Folks, this country RUNS on the backs of blue collar workers, truckers, farmers, factories. It doesn’t run on Progressive Professor’s backs, or Marxists students working at McDonald’s.

With that said, I say, All businesses are essential.

They are essential to the economy, they are essential to those running the businesses as a form of income, they are essential to the workers in the place for their pay check, they are essential to the government because they pay taxes and provide revenue, they are essential to anyone associated with the business whether they are on the “work side” or the “consumer side” for peace of mind, health and body for people to have the ability to feel “needed” and “wanted”.

Regardless of the TYPE of business, each of them has a clientele, each has consumers, each has customers, each has the ability to fill a need, want or service for SOMEONE somewhere.

NO BUSINESS is “non-essential”.

The arbitrary closing of many businesses is a TRICK of various state governments to make you THINK you’re non-essential, and to bring up the “fast food worker’s ability to now earn $15 or more per hour” (yes, we’ve seen those memes.

I give you the “pub” as an example. People working there get paid, and many have families, and children. They provide a service (beer, drinks, snacks, and a place to go to hang out and relax) and the patrons feel “wanted” by someone. The wait staff make small amounts of money and big tips. The bar tenders lend an ear, and make good drinks or pull your favorite kind of beer. But, the gist of it is, EVERY PERSON THERE IS EARNING MONEY.

Now, they are not. The businesses are closed, and as in the case here where I am located it’s been a month now (short of three days as of this writing) and MOST of those workers I mention are out of jobs. They are earning nothing. The BUSINESSES are earning… nothing. The mortgages are due. The bills likely going unpaid. The supplies ruined and thrown out for the most part.

So – how is a pub “essential”? The people are going broke. Oh, sure, there’s that “$1200 check” the “government” is gonna send you right? As pointed out today by a friend, “read the fine print”. That’s a kind of tax kick back. Next year, you’re gonna pay for that. It’ll be taxed. Yup, taxed.

The Pubs are essential to pay the people working in them. And so are nail salons, hair salons, barbers, tire places, and most any other business with employees.

Playing this “non-essential game” is just that, a GAME.

This is getting out of hand, and it’s going to bite us all in the ass soon.

Get this damned state, and all the others back up and running, the sooner, the better. Maintain your “Social Distancing” (no matter how ignorant that sounds, and wash your hands. Stop being idiots about this, and get this country back to business).

IF YOU PERSONALLY are SCARED TO GO OUT, then stay the hell home, but don’t tell ME to stay in doors. I’m not going to do it anymore.

I will not live in a Police State with a bunch of tattle tale sissies and wussies. You wanna stay home, then do it. But stop telling ME what to do.