Heeb Posted May 28, 2020 Posted May 28, 2020 (edited) I might mention that a lot of people actually flip burgers trying to make a living, also there's a lot of waitresses at restaurants that live off of tips, in a lot of states they don't receive minimum wage, they get like $2.00 per hour which hurts them when they apply for unemployment benefits since it's wage based. I was adversely affected when I was on unemployment years ago since I worked for a contracting company, a large chunk of my pay was per diem which isn't calculated for unemployment. Edited May 28, 2020 by Heeb 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heeb Posted May 28, 2020 Posted May 28, 2020 (edited) Does anyone really believe it's possible to social distance in the Philippines, maybe you're in the province or live in a gated community but i have lived in Laguna in a poor area which is pretty much what the whole metro Manila area is. it's way too dense and large families with relatives are packed into tiny homes, you can spit across the street to the other side since the streets are so narrow. The power goes out and they all go outside, the water shuts off everyday so they fill up a trashcan at night and they all shower with the same bucket. Edited May 28, 2020 by Heeb 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum Support Mike J Posted May 28, 2020 Forum Support Posted May 28, 2020 55 minutes ago, OnMyWay said: You commented a few weeks ago that "they wouldn't really do that, would they?" or something like that. I know for a fact that many would think that but of course they don't want to say it out loud. Several members of my family are in that group and other celebrities / politicians have indicated as much. Hummm, I don't recall that post, but I suppose I may have written it as sarcasm. I did write a post recently about the extreme bias in the media from both left and right. So much bias that I now get most of my news from BBC and Aljazeera. The Wall Street Journal seems, at least to me, to be the least biased of the US news services. Unfortunately it is too expensive for me to read on a regular basis. As far as family goes, I feel your pain!!! My brother and sister now refuse to speak to one another. They both still speak with me and are quite open when sharing their political opinions. I expect my brother would call me a RINO and my sister would say I need to better educate myself on what is happening. You might be surprised at how I voted (or didn't) in the last election. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hk blues Posted May 28, 2020 Posted May 28, 2020 48 minutes ago, Heeb said: Does anyone really believe it's possible to social distance in the Philippines, maybe you're in the province or live in a gated community but i have lived in Laguna in a poor area which is pretty much what the whole metro Manila area is. it's way too dense and large families with relatives are packed into tiny homes, you can spit across the street to the other side since the streets are so narrow. The power goes out and they all go outside, the water shuts off everyday so they fill up a trashcan at night and they all shower with the same bucket. You raise a good point - many of us here live a life removed from the reality which is life for much of the population here so when I hear how easy (relatively) this lockdown has been - I'm guilty of this too - but it's a real, real issue for many. And the longer it continues the more a matter of life and death it will become for many. Social distancing is probably not even on their radar. On the other hand, an outbreak in one of those densely populated areas could be disastrous. Not an easy dilemma. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy79 Posted May 28, 2020 Posted May 28, 2020 Do you think with all the old people out the way Covid will be thanked next year when the average death rate is well below figures expected? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeoffH Posted May 28, 2020 Posted May 28, 2020 2 hours ago, OnMyWay said: I can't speak about other countries, but in the U.S., it is the small business owners who are getting killed. Many types of small businesses are getting snuffed out by Walmart, etc., who were allowed to stay open. Small business was already on the way out at the hands of big business, whether that big business was a bricks and mortar chain or increasingly an online business like Amazon. All Covid-19 has done has sped that process up (isn't that the same argument you used for the 'old' people?). Increasingly small business is niche providers or start ups, the mom and pop businesses of the 1970s mostly are on life support already. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnMyWay Posted May 28, 2020 Posted May 28, 2020 24 minutes ago, GeoffH said: Small business was already on the way out at the hands of big business, whether that big business was a bricks and mortar chain or increasingly an online business like Amazon. All Covid-19 has done has sped that process up (isn't that the same argument you used for the 'old' people?). Increasingly small business is niche providers or start ups, the mom and pop businesses of the 1970s mostly are on life support already. For retail, yes. For service businesses, absolutely not. Plumbers and other tradesmen, pest control, salons, restos, pet grooming, dry cleaner, ice cream parlors, souvenir shops, real estate, etc., etc. And many businesses with a big name on the sign are actually franchises with a small business owner. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeoffH Posted May 28, 2020 Posted May 28, 2020 (edited) 4 minutes ago, OnMyWay said: many businesses with a big name on the sign are actually franchises with a small business owner. Franchises aren't really independent small businesses, they're... well they're franchises which is a 'lease' of a business brand not ownership. I agree franchises are on the way up but I see that as another nail in the coffin for independent small business. Edited May 28, 2020 by GeoffH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AusExpat Posted May 28, 2020 Posted May 28, 2020 5 hours ago, hk blues said: You raise a good point - many of us here live a life removed from the reality which is life for much of the population here so when I hear how easy (relatively) this lockdown has been - I'm guilty of this too - but it's a real, real issue for many. And the longer it continues the more a matter of life and death it will become for many. Social distancing is probably not even on their radar. On the other hand, an outbreak in one of those densely populated areas could be disastrous. Not an easy dilemma. If there was going to be an outbreak it would have happened in Tondo where people live in 6ft*6ft rooms, there is NO possibility of social distancing for the poor. Also I'd like to ask why aren't the garbage men dying in droves???? Really good series on the Tondo slums from Al Jazeera - https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/the-slum/ 3 hours ago, GeoffH said: Small business was already on the way out at the hands of big business, whether that big business was a bricks and mortar chain or increasingly an online business like Amazon. All Covid-19 has done has sped that process up (isn't that the same argument you used for the 'old' people?). Increasingly small business is niche providers or start ups, the mom and pop businesses of the 1970s mostly are on life support already. The article title says it all - https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/21/american-billionaires-got-434-billion-richer-during-the-pandemic.html Any wonder why the big tech giants/legacy media are pushing for further lockdown? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
earthdome Posted May 28, 2020 Posted May 28, 2020 2 hours ago, AusExpat said: Any wonder why the big tech giants/legacy media are pushing for further lockdown? To make sure we know why we need them... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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