As the Coronavirus spreads, many states’ leaders have opted to the closure of all “nonessential” businesses, including the closure of small, private businesses. These businesses, excluding huge corporations, may find it difficult to sustain themselves, their families, and their employees (and their families).
The closure of the supposed nonessential businesses can be beneficial in slowing the spread of the virus, but is that worth the cost of harming the millions of workers and business owners that aren’t getting adequate funding from the government?
Closures are not beneficial for an extended period of time. Not only does it harm the economy, it harms the people involved. Governors should not even have the power to keep these businesses closed unless they are government owned businesses.
To clarify, I am not referring to the temporary, short-lasting close of businesses. For the slowing of the spread of the coronavirus, it can be beneficial on one end, but harm things on the other. With the already increasing national debt, it is unsafe to rely on the government for compensation for business closures. This does absolutely no favors to the crashing economy.
Even when businesses are temporarily closed, it was not executed mindfully in Pennsylvania. There was failure on the state government’s behalf to specify what truly was essential and non-essential.
When Pa. Governor Tom Wolf made his announcement on March 20, he mentioned enforcement actions to be taken, but didn’t specify to the people what they were. It’s extremely important to keep businesses and people in the loop of what’s happening.
With limited time to shut down businesses, it felt as though people were sent into an unnecessary, additional panic in this already trying time. Personally, I was confused as to what businesses were applicable to the new rules, and that confusion carried over to family friends with personally owned businesses.
While it’s incredibly important to emphasize caring and protecting the population from the pandemic, it is still important to try to protect the financial state of private business owners and workers, while also providing the safety of others’ lives. Private businesses maintaining themselves is also important to the well-being and safety of their families.
Temporary closures helped to stop the spread of the virus, but they had a negative impact on the economy and financial stance of small and private businesses. While the initial important issue was slowing the spread of Covid-19, we must now also focus on the welfare of our people and the state of our economy.
To best aid in all areas, businesses must reopen with caution, instilling precautions to try to minimize contact and the spread of the virus. This could be large amounts of sanitation, mandatory mask wearing, etc. There must be a happy medium met with the protection of lives and welfare of workers and businesses.
Lydia Anderson, Staff Writer