06-07-2020, 03:11 AM
(03-19-2020, 10:56 AM)beechnut79 Wrote:(03-18-2020, 06:13 PM)pbrower2a Wrote: How credible is Trump? I think he has lost it. State leaders avoid going through him to get something done. In Michigan, restaurants have closed their intenral dining -- carry-out or drive-in only. (This may reduce staff and thus cost, and the tendency away from "casual dining" may intensify, and public libraries (although one can still use their wi-fi for research). Ohio has deferred a primary election (Biden and Trump have all but clinched). I could take a trip into Indiana just to see how things are going there... but why?That's pretty much the way Pizza Hut went. Not sure if they even have full service dining anymore. The chain you are referring to is probably Boston Market, as they have closed many locations recently including the last one in the city that gave it the name. The trend towards more takeout and delivery was well underway long before the virus struck. What do you feel is behind this trend?
Stores have shortened hours. Banks and credit unions now give access to the lobby by appointment only. Life is terribly inconvenient, but think of what is really inconvenient: the ICU. We will probably do more business on line, accelerating the demise of brick-and-mortar retailing.
On the other hand -- we could get very stir-crazy very fast. There will be pend-up demand, and most people temporarily laid off will get their jobs back. I expect some firms to go under, such as one restaurant chain that offers bland, over-priced "comfort food" in a casual setting. It already has an aging clientele, as younger people tend to have little taste for bland, over-priced food. I suspect that many "casual dining" places will go to fast-food models just to survive. Why pay $10 for a hamburger and fries and pay a tip?
There will be pent-up demand... just in time for President Joe Biden.
People will likely penny-pinch more, and one of the easiest ways in which to do so is to go places (carry-outs) where tipping is not expected. Bad chain restaurants that serve over-priced, banal food may go under. Thus Perkins, Marie Callender's, Big Boy, and Boston Market. Bill Knapp's, once a fairly good place for eating, got scared about an aging clientele and thought that it could cater to young adults whose habits had not been set. The problem: in the 1990's, young adults had little disposable income, so the people who might have bought more exotic fare than pot roast and mashed potatoes didn't make that effort profitable.
Pizza parlors might revive because they are good for a party atmosphere in which a "traditional home cooking" place isn't. Were I to try to establish a fast food chain I would imitate Kentucky Fried Chicken or Long John Silver's without being so greasy. One does need the older clientele, and if I am at all normal I can find grease slightly tolerable and spices enjoyable -- but spicy, greasy food gives me a stomach ache.
MacDonald's, Wendy's, and Arby's have been seeking to add higher-priced items into their repertory, as those are more profitable.
Going out to eat may become more "special", unless to diners that specialize in serving breakfast to the 'movers and shakers' of a small town -- the real estate salesmen, insurance and classified-ad salesmen, the bankers, and the other (George) Babbitt types who find such a place good for hearing all the rumors of economic activity. Grabbing a breakfast burrito at a fast-food place for a commute to a job at a store, office, or factory isn't good for hearing such stuff. But if you are a store clerk, typist, or a factory worker you don't have the responsibility to drum up business.
People are going to be leery about taking any crammed transportation for pleasure -- jetliners, cruise ships, or buses. People might take pleasure trips late this summer, but those will be shorter than usual -- and typically with the family car. People will long be expected to wear masks at concert halls, sports arenas, museums, historical sites, casinos, and theaters -- but everyone will be selling those masks as souvenirs.
In entertainment I expect cinema to seek ways of doing movies on lower budgets because.. well, the theater owners will need to turn a profit on the ticket. I expect fewer blockbuster attempts except among those who already do those. Low budgets can imply lower-cost places in which to make movies (you would be surprised at how well parts of Michigan resemble non-urban parts of coastal California, and San Antonio and El Paso look like cities in California. Why do the movie theaters need to make a profit from showing the movie? Because they have made their profits off snacks, and it may be difficult to have people eating those safely with COVID-19 around. Low-budget movies can be entertaining...
I expect the dead-tree edition of the book to largely vanish in favor of reader versions. I expect bookbinders and printers to get ravaged in employment. Too bad; they had good jobs.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.