Texas back in business? Barely, y'all, as malls, restaurants empty

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

BUSINESS NEWS MAY 5, 2020 / 7:07 AM / UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO

Texas back in business? Barely, y'all, as malls, restaurants empty

Brad Brooks
4 MIN READ

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - The Domain mall in Austin, Texas, is open for business - unlike most of its 100 upscale shops - as the state entered its first work week of eased pandemic restrictions in the hopes of rekindling the economy.

A dozen or so people were strolling about the sprawling open-air shopping center Monday afternoon, with three seated on the patio of a Tex-Mex restaurant. Only one shopper wore a mask, and the loudest noises were from songbirds perched in the live oak trees along the deserted pedestrian thoroughfares.

“I’ve seen one customer today - they didn’t buy anything,” said Taylor Jund, who was keeping watch over an empty Chaser clothing store. “There’s absolutely no one coming around here.”

While protests across the United States demand state governments allow business to reopen and people to get back to work, the vast majority of Americans balk at relaxing stay-at-home orders too quickly, according to Reuters/Ipsos opinion polling.

Texas, Georgia and other southern states are leading the way in letting stay at home orders expire and gradually allowing people go about their business. But the early days of the opening in Texas show that many residents might want to stay home anyway.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-texas/texas-back-in-business-barely-yall-as-malls-restaurants-empty-idUSKBN22H19K

[beachbumbob]

1. with no safety insured who is going to venture out except the morons?

[KS Toronado]

15. beachbumbob.....did you mean "except the republican morons" ???

[SergeStorms]

23. And all they're buying...

is ammunition, guns, and Alex Jones' "health" products.

[Paladin]

2. As if I'd risk my life...

...based on the statements and actions of a couple of shit-for-brains like Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan "Old People Need To Die" Patrick.

[Hugin]

3. I find the disconnect between the coverage of the "Open-er-up" protests vs the Occupy protests...

striking and troubling.

[mr_lebowski]

4. And you'd be very right (nt)

[Hugin]

6. Astroturf on steroids.

Ironically, enough. Astroturf. Astrodome. Houston Astros. Texas.

I fear wearing out the word 'irony'.

[Initech]

30. If anything this is going to hurt businesses more than it's going to help them.

Who's going to take that risk? And what business wants to be strapped with that liability?

[dalton99a]

5. Abbott should reopen the governor's mansion

[northoftheborder]

13. much of Texas is still graphing upwards, and people know this

Even some very rural areas are just now getting sick in larger numbers per population than some cities.

[leftyladyfrommo]

7. They can't force people to shop. Won't work.

If no one shows up the clerks are safer and they are getting paid.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

9. But at least they're not on unemployment

*derp*

[luvtheGWN]

16. And that's it exactly.

As long as the stores and restaurants and hair salons and barbershops and tattoo parlours etc. are all open, then the folks who work in them have no reason to collect unemployment.

It always comes down to money with the GOP, doesn't it? Whereas the Democrats care more for people -- as illustrated by Govs Cuomo, Newsom and Inslee.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

17. Although if businesses aren't getting enough business

then they're going to have to shut down again or start laying people off until business picks back up and they'll be back to collecting unemployment again. I don't think that this "reopening" thing has been well thought out.

[angrychair]

19. There is the irony

In trump and other Republicans arrogance and ignorance, they are doing more harm than good by pushing their agenda to hard.

In their rush to try and save Republican majorities, they are doing more to hurt the economy than help it.

[smirkymonkey]

24. Of course not. Republicans never think anything through.

They are all about short-term gains, despite the long term damage that may happen in achieving those gains. They really are galactically stupid.

[callous taoboy]

8. I can attest to that.

I live in a town that thousands of people descend on every weekend. I drove through town on both Friday night and Saturday afternoon and the crowds were down by at least 85-90%. Just a handful of people walking the sidewalks. I have friends that own local businesses and they are very discouraged, but understanding.

[Igel]

10. Keep this in mind.

Because it might matter for projections.

Just as projections have started to fail because people--not just in red states--have started to move more, so projections might also fail because people, when lockdowns are relaxed, don't fully revert to their former behavior.

In other words, the lockdowns weren't as locked-down as assumptions required, and the opened-up economies might not be as open as predicted.

[SWBTATTReg]

11. I love it when these states racing to 'open' their doors for business (like they really have any

input into whether a business is open for business or not) think that they have more power than rump does, in ordering businesses in their states to 'open'. They all have ZERO power.

Some of the states have turned pretty ugly by not paying unemployment insurance for those that have (in theory) businesses open. I wonder what will happen when stats start going up in areas (on CV illness/deaths) that opened prematurely? I suspect that some states will attempt to hid this fact, and thus, are guilty of crimes against their own populations (in hiding the deadliness of the still ongoing CV outbreaks).

I still don't feel safe in going out yet. Do you?

[Roc2020]

12. No. No I don't

And as long as the ticker on cnn/msnbc shows the number of people dying getting sick and going to the hospital keeps going up I'm keeping my activities essential. The grocery store and back home. I'm fortunately able to work from home. Trump supporters who want to prove a point by running loose and protesting, good luck.

[gab13by13]

14. Meh, consumer spending doesn't matter anymore,

as long as Wall Street gets trillions of dollars from taxpayers(borrowed money) the Fed and Central Banks.

I think Wall Street is up again today while a horrible jobs report is due on Friday.

[angrychair]

20. That is sustainable

In the end, you can only shuffle the deck chairs on the titanic so many times before you are under water anyway.

[Frances]

18. Any employee who will not get unemployment

Benefits if he or she does not return to work should be given the masks that protect themselves (95?) and other PPE because we have seen too many instances of shoppers without masks. Too many shoppers have been belligerent and have exhibited dangerous behavior
A person should not have to choose between exposure from selfish customers and food

[keithbvadu2]

21. Why aren't the repubs out shopping with their guns?

Why aren't the repubs out shopping with their guns?

[TXPaganBanker]

22. We have restaurants reopening where they are not allowing masks.

The restaurants are in Preston Hollow (very affluent neighborhood, with residents like George W Bush and Tom Hicks), with Hillstone being a prime example. Masks aren't part of their "image". And because they fired all the employees initially, they're not "firing employees that want to wear a mask", they're "choosing not to rehire staff that won't adhere to stated dress code".

Not stepping foot in any place like that, ever.

https://www.dallasobserver.com/restaurants/hillstone-employees-told-they-cant-wear-face-masks-11908105

[smirkymonkey]

25. That's insane, and evil.

They clearly don't care about the health of their employees or their patrons. Watch their business crumble.

I hope they go bankrupt.

[rainin]

26. No one will shop, but employees can't get unemployment because restrictions are lifted

Businesses fail.

Game. Set. Match. Disaster capitalism. The rich win.

[LizBeth]

27. People lose unemployment if they do not go to work, go to work and no customers the employer

loses more money for operations then shutting down. And this because a few loud voices. That being said, I drove past Walmart yesterday and the huge parking lot was full.

[gratuitous]

28. Hmmm

You get to the actual numbers of people willing to risk their lives for consumerism, and it's not nearly as impressive a display as the armed terrorists strutting around small public squares. Whoda thunk it?

[cbdo2007]

29. Exactly why the protests were completely misguided. I hope they check with the protesters at least..

and make sure they are all out shopping every day and keeping these places in business.

[DrToast]

31. As everyone with a brain predicted...

...you don’t get a healthy economy unless you control the virus.

[Windy City Charlie]

32. As predicted

One thing to reopen the economy, quite another to get people to support the economy right now. What are they going to do? Force people to do so?

[Skittles]

33. I just mentioned this to a friend up north

most people I see are listening to doctors and scientist, not the Trump-humping governor

I continue to go pickup takeout, and tip nicely.

[JI7]

34. No Restaurant wants to be on the news as the place where multiple people were infected