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1 hour ago, GunMetalGrey said:

I'll be there for the Boogaloo, the secret hideout. 

Costco by me had a line to get in, I just left instead.
Grocery stores are getting cleaned out, which is understandable with the quarantine talk, but the wiped out (pun intended) toilet paper and towel aisle is wild. 

I was wondering how you're fairing out there. People here are already loosing there minds and there's only 20-some cases state-wide. Looks like Washington is 700+, so I'm imagining law and order and basic human dignity running nearly as short on supply as the TP and hand sanitizer.

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6 hours ago, HipMF said:

I was wondering how you're fairing out there. People here are already loosing there minds and there's only 20-some cases state-wide. Looks like Washington is 700+, so I'm imagining law and order and basic human dignity running nearly as short on supply as the TP and hand sanitizer.

Ha, I can't say I've ran into anyone that has determined common decency is no longer required.
The airports sure have been an interesting sight lately though, from empty corridors, to people with full face shield can style respirators on. 

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38 minutes ago, straight6pwr said:

cancelled all our plans at least until april! no friends dinners or parties.

how are you parents doing stuck with your kids for extended periods of time? 🤪

I keep laughing because my sons school is sending all of these lists of things to do while your home with your kid and it honestly reads like some people have never spent a whole day alone with their kids.  One of them suggested yoga from 9am - 10am if weather doesn't permit you to take your dog for a walk.  I'm really trying not to be cynical about that stuff because it comes from a good place and I have two family members that are elementary level teachers in Wisconsin so I've heard the expectations the districts have of them during this time.  It's very much a "If we're going to pay you to stay home you need to actually show you're working" type of scenario.

Our situation is pretty good because my wife works 4 days a week and we're at an in-home daycare and she had told us ahead of time that as long as a kid isn't showing symptoms she's OK taking them if the schools shut down.  She also fills in at a Montessori school and was privy to conversations before we actually knew the schools would be closed.  So for us really not much has changed other than my son is more cognizant of being physically close to people because of "the virus".  Other than that there is a heightened sense of awareness for me when I'm out with the kids which isn't great because i'm pretty paranoid to begin with.  The kind of paranoid that involves constantly casing exits in a building and playing worse case scenarios out in my head before they never happen just so i'm prepared to handle an asteroid taking out half of the grocery store or some other mundane emergency and that's on a normal day.  Now i'm just paying more attention to people in general and how they're interacting with others.  When the social climate is this high I feel like fairly normal people are more likely to lose their shit because someone made a fairly innocuous comment about how many cartons of eggs they had in their cart.  I keep telling my son nothing has really changed even though things like washing your hands are more stressed right now.  I just keep telling him we're not doing anything different than what we've already been doing but other people need to be reminded of it.  The last thing I want is for him to develop some social anxiety because of this situation.

We have my daughters 1st birthday coming up April 1st and had sent invites out weeks ago and already have family members canceling because of the situation.  I'm OK with it but my wife is more annoyed and upset.  In my own head I think that at 1 year old my daughter won't know it from any other day if it's delayed.  It's certainly a bigger deal to my wife.

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On 3/15/2020 at 12:24 AM, gilber33 said:

I went to Costco because I needed formula. That’s it. And I was dreading going because I knew what it was going to be like. I was completely right, and it was super frustrating. I had one thing. People had carts full of just water. People know their faucets will continue to work, right? 

I have this vision in my head when we leave the house of cars burning on the side of the road, houses boarded up, people pounding on our car windows for help when we’re at a stop sign. Basically all of the scenes from “end of the world” movies because that’s how this is being portrayed in the media. 

Going to the grocery store definitely makes you feel like the world is fucking ending.  Bright side, I ran into one of my younger cousins on Sunday and apparently she's on an app where you can put in a grocery list and someone will go pick it for you.  She got on this a few weeks ago and she said she's been clearing about $200+ a week doing this.  She scans every item with the app to verify it's correct, the groceries are prepaid by the customer and her payment is paid as soon as she completes the task.  She said the vast majority of the time it's an elderly person and she's told to just leave everything outside their door.  She's a Sophomore in college so the extra money is great for a few hours worth of work each week.

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10 hours ago, straight6pwr said:

cancelled all our plans at least until april! no friends dinners or parties.

how are you parents doing stuck with your kids for extended periods of time? 🤪

We're in a situation where my wife is a stay-at-home-mom so there hasn't been any disruption to work or daycare for us - and we are very grateful for that. BUT, I will tell you, usually by Thursday night she is ready for it be the weekend so she can have some help and other adults around. She does the calendar for a local mom's group and they usually have one activity a day during the week where mom's can get together, and not having that is very difficult. This will be a very difficult few weeks for her and I will probably use some vacation days to break up the monotony for her. 

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9 hours ago, patsbimmer1 said:

Going to the grocery store definitely makes you feel like the world is fucking ending.  Bright side, I ran into one of my younger cousins on Sunday and apparently she's on an app where you can put in a grocery list and someone will go pick it for you.  She got on this a few weeks ago and she said she's been clearing about $200+ a week doing this.  She scans every item with the app to verify it's correct, the groceries are prepaid by the customer and her payment is paid as soon as she completes the task.  She said the vast majority of the time it's an elderly person and she's told to just leave everything outside their door.  She's a Sophomore in college so the extra money is great for a few hours worth of work each week.

My wife used that once for Target. It was super convenient, but then she didn't realize that with like a $400 order you're supposed to provide a pretty significant tip to the person. I'll still be going about my daily routine of grocery shopping on Friday unless that guberment tells me otherwise. 

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56 minutes ago, patsbimmer1 said:

I know there are people out there with hobby farms or pet chickens or some bullshit who are secretly thrilled about the thousands they've dumped into a hobby that is now "paying off" in sustainability.

not really paying off yet, but yeah they are definitely thrilled. they also tend to be more secluded people, so the whole social isolation thing is just business as usual.

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So how is it allowable under the constitution to force private business closure?  Of course the government can decide to close public things like schools etc and make recommendations that gatherings be limited.  However they have no grounds to shut down private restaurants, bars etc.  This is getting out of hand.

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36 minutes ago, jc43089 said:

So how is it allowable under the constitution to force private business closure?  Of course the government can decide to close public things like schools etc and make recommendations that gatherings be limited.  However they have no grounds to shut down private restaurants, bars etc.  This is getting out of hand.

Easy. They  say close your doors or we will revoke your permits and licenses that are issued by their municipality and county. They also limit gatherings to 10 people or less. Most restaurants have more than 10 people working at a time and now you can't have any customers so why would you stay open? Even bars have maybe two or three people working. Is it economical to stay open for 7 customers at a time? Would that hourly revenue cover the cost of wages, vendors, rent, utilities, etc.? Probably not. 

I would disagree it's getting out of hand. China shut down everything  and their daily new cases have effectively flat-lined while the rest of the world's are increasing exponentially: 

image.png

Wuhan is also essentially the only region in China that has any remaining cases of the virus. Most other regions have a small handful of cases left.

Cumulative cases:

image.png

And active cases:

image.png

They're a communist country, so it's easier for them to do this, but it worked. 

It is also my understanding that the State is working to put together assistance packages for small businesses to stay in business. I believe the WEDC is working on a low-interest loan for small businesses to cover closures. At least that is my understanding from talking to some of the business owners in the downtown where I work. It's unclear at this point if those loans are going to have a long-term repayment schedule, or how low of an interest rate they'll have, but I believe there will be some options made available soon. 

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I realize how they are doing it and small businesses have no way to resist.  Notice large companies and factories aren't shutting down, they have money to contest.

Great some assistance packages!  Oh wait where did that money come from in the first place?  It's just money we all gave them in the first place.

Since it isn't publicized here is the actual Official executive order https://evers.wi.gov/Documents/COVID19/UPDATEDOrder10People.pdf

It references Wis Statute 252.02(3) as allowing it to enforce the order.  https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/252/02

What that says is "(3)The department may close schools and forbid public gatherings in schools, churches, and other places to control outbreaks and epidemics."

Apparently "other places" is broad enough to fit just about everything.  Wouldn't large industrial plants be an issue where several hundred people are working together all day every day?  They can't target that because it would get contested and thrown out so fast.  Instead they will go after small businesses.  Massive abuse of power in my opinion.

Also apparently it is forgotten that the first amendment of the constitution says that the government shall make no law restricting religious gatherings so that makes the Wisconsin statute in conflict with the constitution.

Rant over. :)

 

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Factories fall under Exemption No. 12: 

image.png

Also, that document has been publicized. It was posted on TMJ4's website yesterday. 

Well, yeah, the Economic Development agencies are typically funded by State and Federal dollars that are collected through taxes. I mean, they could also say go fuck yourselves and good luck on the other end and not offer any assistance? There are also local banks who are deferring mortgages and loan payments to offset costs as well - those dollars don't come out of your pocket. 

There is no perfect solution. My interpretation of it is restaurants, small business, bars, etc. are usually close quarters where people are very close together. Large manufacturing facilities may have 500 people, but they're spread out over 100,000 square feet, and they're not shoulder to shoulder. 

 

Background information: I'm an Urban Planner and work in the Department of Community Development for Menomonee Falls. A large part of my job is working with our Downtown Business Improvement District and the businesses down there. I have been in communication with a lot of the business owners in our downtown and know how it affects them. It's not great. It sucks. There's really no other way to put it. It sucks. 

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By publicized I just meant that most people get their information second hand instead of just reading the three pages directly from the source.  If everyone did that there would be a lot less misinformation floating around.

I realize there is no perfect solution.  Factories I've worked in don't allow for social distancing though, Hormel has rooms full of shoulder to shoulder people trimming meat for example.  Once a few people have it in a place like that the whole place will have it.  Other illnesses do the same thing in those places why would this be any different.

My point is that they should be making recommendations and best practices, a lot of companies were already sending people to work from home if at all possible.  I'm a government employee now, Technical college instructor, they have every right to close that because it is directly run by the government just like the public K-12 schools.

And if you choose to close your business temporarily that's good.  I think the mandatory closing of private business is over reaching.  I am sure later there will be lot's of court action to make black and white what is now a gray area because nothing like this has been tried before. 

 

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this is tough for sure, I will have very limited work till this is over. sorry to hear you had to shut the business down. can you get creative and keep a couple people around and have a few appointments? 100% i doubt the government can physically enforce you being closed and they sure as shit dont have time to send you ceases and desists and get lawyers involved, or whatever.  the world will return to normal, it always does. have a conversation with your landlord, maybe they and you can survive on reduced rent in the mean time? cant hurt to ask! it wont help them if you have to close shop and leave, theyd rather keep you

you have to hope individual people have prepared financially for something like this. i've always been taught to have about a years worth of expenses close at hand incase income were to cease. i believe we will also see mercy from these big companies, its already starting to happen. i bet we'll see mortgage and rent forgiveness instead of foreclosures for people have a hard time in the short term.

if we work together we can get through this. 

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58 minutes ago, jc43089 said:

By publicized I just meant that most people get their information second hand instead of just reading the three pages directly from the source.  If everyone did that there would be a lot less misinformation floating around.

I realize there is no perfect solution.  Factories I've worked in don't allow for social distancing though, Hormel has rooms full of shoulder to shoulder people trimming meat for example.  Once a few people have it in a place like that the whole place will have it.  Other illnesses do the same thing in those places why would this be any different.

My point is that they should be making recommendations and best practices, a lot of companies were already sending people to work from home if at all possible.  I'm a government employee now, Technical college instructor, they have every right to close that because it is directly run by the government just like the public K-12 schools.

And if you choose to close your business temporarily that's good.  I think the mandatory closing of private business is over reaching.  I am sure later there will be lot's of court action to make black and white what is now a gray area because nothing like this has been tried before. 

 

Gotcha. I think it's a really tough balancing act. Some of the factories producing good for day to day life are currently being weighed as more important than small businesses. In this exact moment, is it more important that toilet paper is available than being able to pick up some reclaimed wood earrings? Maybe. But it's destroying some people's lives. We have some businesses in our downtown who have already said they will most likely not make it through this.

It's a shitty situation all around. 

 

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3 hours ago, straight6pwr said:

this is tough for sure, I will have very limited work till this is over. sorry to hear you had to shut the business down. can you get creative and keep a couple people around and have a few appointments? 100% i doubt the government can physically enforce you being closed and they sure as shit dont have time to send you ceases and desists and get lawyers involved, or whatever.  the world will return to normal, it always does. have a conversation with your landlord, maybe they and you can survive on reduced rent in the mean time? cant hurt to ask! it wont help them if you have to close shop and leave, theyd rather keep you

you have to hope individual people have prepared financially for something like this. i've always been taught to have about a years worth of expenses close at hand incase income were to cease. i believe we will also see mercy from these big companies, its already starting to happen. i bet we'll see mortgage and rent forgiveness instead of foreclosures for people have a hard time in the short term.

if we work together we can get through this. 

The wording that got us was in the social distancing.  It said something to the effect of 6 feet of space or more, and if closer is required, limit it to less than 10 mins.  The whole spa is designed around services with a therapist/nailtech/stylist physically touching a client for 30-90 mins.  it would be easy to limit the nail room and salon to no more than 10 people but the touching is impossible to get away from.

My wife has cancelled literally 100's of appts over the next few weeks.  Most clients completely understood, some even said, "well, I really trust your cleaning procedures, are you sure I can't come in?"  It came down to liability.  We'd be going directly against the government order/recommendation if someone were to get it and trace it back to us, we'd be liable, or at least have a battle on our hands.

Too bad that grant is for businesses less than 20 employees only.  That might work for mine if the economy doesn't recover, we only have 6 people here.  We are looking into loan offerings from SBA.  Long terms, low interest rates.  Hopefully we can make that work.

I agree we can get through this, lets just hope there is something left at the end to make it worth it.

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