The "Re-Opening" the Economy Thread

[China]

‘Existential Peril’: Mass Transit Faces Huge Service Cuts Across U.S.

 

Reeling from the pandemic, transit agencies are grappling with drastic reductions in ridership and pleading for help from Washington.

 

In Boston, transit officials warned of ending weekend service on the commuter rail and shutting down the city’s ferries. In Washington, weekend and late-night metro service would be eliminated and 19 of the system’s 91 stations would close. In Atlanta, 70 of the city’s 110 bus routes have already been suspended, a move that could become permanent.

 

And in New York City, home to the largest mass transportation system in North America, transit officials have unveiled a plan that could slash subway service by 40 percent and cut commuter rail service in half.

 

Across the United States, public transportation systems are confronting an extraordinary financial crisis set off by the pandemic, which has starved transit agencies of huge amounts of revenue and threatens to cripple service for years.

 

The profound cuts agencies are contemplating could hobble the recoveries of major cities from New York to Los Angeles and San Francisco, where reliable transit is a lifeblood of the local economies.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

 

[China]

Guy Fieri, the Fundraiser of Flavortown

 

He raised more than $21.5 million in seven weeks to assist unemployed restaurant workers.
 

On March 27, as businesses across the U.S. were starting to feel the devastating effects of pandemic-related closures, Fieri started the Restaurant Employee Relief Fund. The vast majority of the money he raised came after personal pleas to the likes of Moët Hennessy USA, PepsiCo, and Uber Eats, whose sponsorship has collectively helped roughly 43,000 people receive $500 grants.

 

Click on the link for more

[Larry]

Don't think there's any thread where this is perfect.  But this one seems closest.  

 

Bloomberg:  

 

Stop Dissing Electric-Car Companies Already

They now comprise half the worth of the world’s 10 most valuable automakers, and for good reasons.

 

Quote

 

Electric-car companies are suddenly worth half of the total market capitalization of the world’s 10 most valuable automakers. That’s because money managers sized up the convergence of government policies and people’s preferences combating climate change and made alternative energy their biggest bet.

 

Much was achieved by Tesla Inc., the Palo Alto maker of the S, X, Y and 3 model vehicles, giving it a market capitalization of $539 billion, or more than Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp., Germany’s Volkswagen AG and Detroit’s General Motors Co. combined. Tesla was barely 26% of Toyota’s value at this point last year. None of the industry’s Top 10 exclusively manufactured EVs in 2015; this year the list included Shanghai-based Nio Inc. and Guangzhou-based XPeng Inc., EV upstarts in the world’s largest market.

 

. . . 

 

Since its initial public offering in June 2010, Tesla revenue increased 241 times as revenue for the rest of the industry rose 19%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Tesla shares appreciated 170 times when the comparable figure was three times for global peers. None of which persuades numerous Tesla detractors, who insist the company will fail as soon as the legacy automakers determine that EVs are profitable. That moment arrives this month when Tesla joins the S&P 500 as its record-breaking largest new member.

 

 

[PleaseBlitz]

When Ford is making an electric F-150, you know the tide has turned.

 

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a28482314/electric-ford-f-150-prototype-million-pound-payload/

[Larry]

Maybe our country should be encouraging that?  Help our companies in a growth market?  

 

I still remember an editorial asserting that the best thing our country could do, in terms of laws, to encourage this market:  

 

Require EVs to have easily replaceable batteries, in one of a few standard sizes.  His analogy was that consumer electronics was helped a lot by having standard batteries of AAA, AA, D, 9V.  You can buy them anywhere, in lots of different grades.  And you know going in that you'll be able to buy batteries, from competitors keeping prices lown, 10 years from now.  

 

Americans hang on to cars for a long time.  I know one thing I'd be worried about with an EV, is that my car battery seems to last 5 years or so.  Will I discover 10 years from now that I bought a Betamax?  

[China]

Crime Wave Hits Bodegas, Threatening a Lifeline in the Pandemic

 

Bodegas have seen a 63 percent rise in shootings and a threefold increase in burglaries. Six people have been killed in or just outside the stores.

 

It was shortly after 6 o’clock one night in late October when Hardik Parekh, the manager of a corner store in Queens, saw a man he recognized as a chronic shoplifter walk in. Not again, he thought.

 

Mr. Parekh shared a glance with a co-worker, Mohmediyan Tarwala, 26, who quickly moved to escort the man out the door. The mundane moment then took a terrifying turn. The man pulled out a firearm and fatally shot Mr. Tarwala, Mr. Parekh said.

 

“Lately, after the pandemic, I don’t know why, but we had people come in and threatening us,” Mr. Parekh said, standing near the spot where his friend collapsed. “I never thought it would end up in murder.”

 

In the spring, as New York went into lockdown and essential items flew off supermarket shelves, the bodegas — part pantries, part community centers — became a lifeline for New Yorkers searching for hard-to-find staples.

 

They also became havens during the shutdown, scrappy 24-hour stores where people could find a loaf of bread, some hand sanitizer, a cup of coffee, a lotto ticket or, in some cases, just a sense of community.

 

But as the pandemic has worn on and increasing numbers of people have lost their jobs or fallen on hard times, the bodegas that a few months ago were seen as islands of normal life have become prime targets in a growing crime wave, endangering operators like Mr. Parekh.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

And not just in NYC...

 

Stealing to survive: More Americans are shoplifting food as aid runs out during the pandemic

 

Early in the pandemic, Joo Park noticed a worrisome shift at the market he manages near downtown Washington: At least once a day, he’d spot someone slipping a package of meat, a bag of rice or other food into a shirt or under a jacket. Diapers, shampoo and laundry detergent began disappearing in bigger numbers, too.

 

Since then, he said, thefts have more than doubled at Capitol Supermarket — even though he now stations more employees at the entrance, asks shoppers to leave backpacks up front and displays high-theft items like hand sanitizer and baking yeast in more conspicuous areas. Park doesn’t usually call the police, choosing instead to bar offenders from coming back.

 

“It’s become much harder during the pandemic,” he said. “People will say, ‘I was just hungry.’ And then what do you do?”

 

The coronavirus recession has been a relentless churn of high unemployment and economic uncertainty. The government stimulus that kept millions of Americans from falling into poverty earlier in the pandemic is long gone, and new aid is still a dot on the horizon after months of congressional inaction. Hunger is chronic, at levels not seen in decades.

 

The result is a growing subset of Americans who are stealing food to survive.

 

Shoplifting is up markedly since the pandemic began in the spring and at higher levels than in past economic downturns, according to interviews with more than a dozen retailers, security experts and police departments across the country. But what’s distinctive about this trend, experts say, is what’s being taken — more staples like bread, pasta and baby formula.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[EmirOfShmo]

The shoplifting of basic necessities may be only the start. The week between Christmas & New Years is shaping up to be a total **** show without some help from the gov't.

 

Unemployment claims jumped sharply last week as a surge in coronavirus hospitalizations and deaths put new pressure on the U.S. economy just before critical coronavirus aid programs are set to expire.

...

Claims for a special federal program for gig workers and the self-employed, who ordinarily are not eligible for unemployment relief, also jumped, by 48%.

Together, the claims suggest nearly 1.3 million people were newly out of work last week.

...

The worsening picture comes as critical programs passed by Congress in the spring, including expanded unemployment benefits, are set to expire the day after Christmas for more than 13 million people.

 

https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/12/10/944955495/unemployment-claims-jump-just-before-critical-aid-programs-are-set-to-expire

[Larry]

. . . and the entire Republican Party has decided that their path to greater power is to make certain that it doesn't get better.  

[skinsmarydu]

1 minute ago, Larry said:

. . . and the entire Republican Party has decided that their path to greater power is to make certain that it doesn't get better.  

And the people that vote for them die.  That's just the fact.  (Jack.) 

I can't find a good ANYTHING to that party. 

[China]

Covid-19: Safety concerns over planes returning to service

 

Experts are warning airlines to take extra care when reactivating planes left in storage during the pandemic.

 

Pilot rustiness, maintenance errors and even insect nests could be potential dangers for aircraft re-entering service.

 

Travel restrictions have caused a huge decline in flying, with many planes put in extended storage.

 

As a result, there has been a spike in the number of reported problems as planes return to service.

 

“Every aircraft is going to have a specific set of instructions for maintenance, but it has never been done on this scale before,” said Greg Waldron, Asia managing editor of aviation magazine FlightGlobal.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

'She is dying slowly': Bowling alley owner posts obituary for business closed for 200 days

 

Like many businesses, bowling alleys have struggled during the pandemic.

 

Vision Lanes in Westland, Michigan has been closed for more than two 200 days.

 

The owner posted an obituary online, fearing that his beloved business was dying.

 

"She is barely conscious. She is dying slowly. My baby that I have nursed from birth, called Vision Lanes is in jeopardy,” part of the obituary reads.

 

"It was like my wife and I were seeing my daughter die, and my daughters were watching one of their sister's die, because they are as invested as myself and my wife,” said Steven Klein.

 

More than 17 years ago, Steven Klein and his wife Lisa opened Vision Lanes with a dream of building more than just a bowling center.

 

"To make it a place where people can go to love and be loved. When people walk in, they are treated equally across the board no matter black or white, gay or straight, old or young,” said Klein.

 

While he says he supports the governor, the stay home order and now the pause has been really tough.

 

"We've been closed for over 200 days, you kind of feel like you've been forgotten,” said Klein.

 

The bills have been piling up while the doors have been closed, but Klein says its more than that.

 

"It wasn't the money as much as knowing you lost a loved one really,” said Klein.

 

Click on the link for the full story

[Larry]

Won't someone please think of the poor businesses?  

[EmirOfShmo]

With all of the other crap going on the claims continue to rise without too much coverage by the media. These recent numbers are +10% higher than what the experts expected. 

 

US jobless claims rise to 885,000 amid resurgence of virus

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose again last week to 885,000, the highest weekly total since September, as a resurgence of coronavirus cases threatens the economy’s recovery from its springtime collapse.

The Labor Department said Thursday that the number of applications increased from 862,000 the previous week. It showed that nine months after the virus paralyzed the economy, many employers are still slashing jobs as the pandemic forces more business restrictions and leads many consumers to stay home. The number of claims was much higher than the 800,000 that economists had expected.

 

https://apnews.com/article/technology-jobless-claims-unemployment-coronavirus-pandemic-economy-3dfd19dfdf6a9e940b492e23b4d87403

 

[Cooked Crack]

 

 

[CousinsCowgirl84]

On 12/8/2020 at 11:24 AM, Larry said:

Maybe our country should be encouraging that?  Help our companies in a growth market?  

 

I still remember an editorial asserting that the best thing our country could do, in terms of laws, to encourage this market:  

 

Require EVs to have easily replaceable batteries, in one of a few standard sizes.  His analogy was that consumer electronics was helped a lot by having standard batteries of AAA, AA, D, 9V.  You can buy them anywhere, in lots of different grades.  And you know going in that you'll be able to buy batteries, from competitors keeping prices lown, 10 years from now.  

 

Americans hang on to cars for a long time.  I know one thing I'd be worried about with an EV, is that my car battery seems to last 5 years or so.  Will I discover 10 years from now that I bought a Betamax?  

EV battery lasts about 10 years. Tesla seems to be heading in the opposite direction of “easily replacement” as they are going the structural battery packs which give greater range at lower cost.

Edited January 13, 2021 by CousinsCowgirl84

[Larry]

1 minute ago, CousinsCowgirl84 said:

EV battery lasts about 10 years.

 

Then they need to be easily replaceable.  And not by taking the car to the dealer and having the dealer replace the entire battery back with one, model-specific, unit.  They need to see to it that 10 years from now, I can take the car to Pep Boys and replace just the cells that need replacing.  From a choice of different grades.  

[CousinsCowgirl84]

On 12/16/2020 at 5:00 PM, Larry said:

Won't someone please think of the poor businesses?  

I understand how if your not in a position to loose a business, your also not in position to understand what it is to loose the one you spent your life building.

 

I mean, if you get laid off, at least you have options. Another job, or unemployment. If you loose your business you have nothing but a mountain of debt.

[PleaseBlitz]

 

13 minutes ago, Cooked Crack said:

 

 

 

 

Idiots will definitely somehow use this to argue that Die Hard is a Christmas movie. 
 

 

Edited January 13, 2021 by PleaseBlitz

[CousinsCowgirl84]

4 minutes ago, Larry said:

 

Then they need to be easily replaceable.  And not by taking the car to the dealer and having the dealer replace the entire battery back with one, model-specific, unit.  They need to see to it that 10 years from now, I can take the car to Pep Boys and replace just the cells that need replacing.  From a choice of different grades.  

yeah, i don’t think it’s necessarily a bad option. Originally the model 3 was supposed to be built as a skateboard with hot swapable batteries but they quickly abounded that. Now it costs about 10k to replace the battery pack.  But like I said, with structural battery packs getting a new battery might cost too much. I think those batteries are supposed to last longer.

Edited January 13, 2021 by CousinsCowgirl84

[Larry]

I'm not saying that replacing the battery must be legislated to be as easy as replacing a current car battery.  

 

But at least in my imagination, maybe a law mandating that once the battery pack is removed from the car, then individual batteries must be accessible, and will consist of units the same size as, say, my current pickup battery.  (I think it's a size 24?)  Your car might contain 20 of them.  But you can replace just the bad ones.  

 

Also, is there a standard charging port for EVs?  A standard "gas pump" that fits all of them?  Might also be something to legislate.  

 

(Heck, if you want to allow room to upgrade?  My laptop uses a USB-C changing cord.  When I plug it into the charger, the charger and the laptop communicate with each other, and negotiate the voltage and current that they can both handle/deliver.  Maybe technology like that, for the "gas pump".)  

[CousinsCowgirl84]

1 hour ago, Larry said:

 

 

Also, is there a standard charging port for EVs?  A standard "gas pump" that fits all of them?  Might also be something to legislate.  

 

 

no, there is Tesla, Chademo, and CSS. Tesla approached traditional auto to try to get them to agree to a standard a while ago, but Tesla was a ****roach then and the big three were looking to crush them so no deal was made.

[Cooked Crack]

 

 

 

[PleaseBlitz]

I was just about to post that in the Japan Olympics thread. 
 

Sad. I hate it. The Olympics are needed right now. 
 

I understand that they cant really happen. 

[skinsmarydu]

Deep down in our hearts, we're glad the former admin did not represent us.  US.  The USA. 

I know I am.  And I'm sad...but I want all athletes to be safe.  And that just can't happen now.