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The Economic Depression Of 2020: Many Of The Restaurants, Bars And Retailers That Have Closed Will Never Open Again It appears that we are heading into the worst economic downturn of the post-World War II era, and that is going to be true no matter how this coronavirus pandemic ultimately plays out. There are some that believe that this virus will only kill thousands, and there are others that are warning that it could kill millions, but everyone can agree that this outbreak is causing an unprecedented amount of fear. And even once this pandemic starts to fade, a certain percentage of the population will continue to be afraid to go to restaurants, bars and other small businesses that are open to the public. Of course many restaurants, bars and small businesses were just barely scraping by during the “good times”, and so many of them will simply not be be able to survive if a substantial portion of the population is literally petrified to step through their doors for the foreseeable future. As long as fear of the coronavirus persists, the U.S. economy is going to be in for a world of hurt, and it looks like we may still be in the very early stages of this pandemic. In fact, we are now being told that the death toll in the U.S. “could reach 100,000 or more”…
Of course the death toll could ultimately be much lower than that if effective treatments are made widely available to the general public. We shall have to wait and see if that actually happens. But meanwhile, fear of the coronavirus is absolutely devastating the economy. According to the National Restaurant Association, our restaurant industry has lost 25 billion dollars in sales so far this month…
As this crisis stretches on, all of the dominoes in the commercial mortgage market are going to begin to fall. What we are watching is deeply tragic, because those that work in our restaurants are some of the hardest working people in the entire country. At this point, 3 percent of our restaurants “have already permanently closed”, and another 11 percent “anticipate they will permanently close within 30 days”…
Can you imagine that? By the end of next month, 14 percent of all restaurants in America could be gone for good. And the longer this pandemic lasts, the higher that number will go. We didn’t see anything like this back in 2008. What we are now facing is truly unprecedented, and there is going to be a whole lot of vacant buildings in the days ahead. Of course it isn’t just restaurants that are being hit extremely hard. According to the Wall Street Journal, a wide variety of businesses all over the country are already in very serious trouble…
Even if all of the lockdowns all over the U.S. were immediately lifted, economic activity would not return to “normal”, because millions upon millions of Americans would still be deeply afraid of the virus. And that isn’t going to happen anyway. In fact, President Trump just extended the national “social distancing guidelines” through April 30th…
So that means that it is probably unlikely that any of the lockdowns on the state level that we have witnessed will be lifted before April 30th. Across the Atlantic, citizens of the United Kingdom are being warned that life may not get back to normal “for six months or even longer”…
Would they really try to keep people inside for that long? I can promise you that people do not have that much patience. If you doubt this, just look at what is happening in China…
Here in the U.S., I have been seeing people all over social media clamoring for a return to normalcy. Sadly, that is simply not going to happen for the foreseeable future, and the consequences for the U.S. economy are going to be extremely, extremely bitter.
I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help. During these very challenging times, people will need hope more than ever before, and it is our goal to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with all many people as we possibly can.
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