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With (second) lockdowns happening in Australia and parts of Europe, how are those countries weathering the economic storm of businesses closing at alarming rates? In the US, we're on the verge of having our first real lockdown. The previous pseudo-lockdown we had a few months back had a huge impact on the economy. I was just wondering how other countries, that are farther along, are faring.
"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." - James D. Miles
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To be honest, we probably won't know until it's all over and we find out how much governments owe, and how many businesses / jobs are left to be taxed to fund it.
I suspect it will be pretty nasty for quite a while.
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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In the UK, the Government is pumping in £Billions in an attempt to keep businesses and the economy afloat. But we are still seeing many go to the wall. Particularly high street retailers and the leisure industry. And I don't think the travel industry can weather the storm for much longer. Trying to walk the tightrope of saving lives or saving jobs is not easy.
Here's a quick survey for everyone. What would you prefer:
a) Death?
b) Unemployment?
I'm going to cast my vote for (b).
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5teveH wrote: Trying to walk the tightrope of saving lives or saving jobs is not easy.
So true. I hate playing the "pick the lesser of two evils" game.
"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." - James D. Miles
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Thank you for bringing it up so I can ask. What does "high street retailers" mean?
I’ve given up trying to be calm. However, I am open to feeling slightly less agitated.
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MarkTJohnson wrote: What does "high street retailers" mean?
Good point. That doesn't 'translate' very well. The shops/stores in our towns and city centres.
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All those businesses whose windows you gaze into longingly when you wander through the mall.
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I think the phrase, "high street" is synonymous with "uptown" as in the streets with higher numbers. Somehow that is in contrast to "downtown" and I am not sure what connotations one should draw from those terms. I could quite possibly be all wet about this. I have a recurring problem where I attempt to infer logical thinking where there is or was none.
"They have a consciousness, they have a life, they have a soul! Damn you! Let the rabbits wear glasses! Save our brothers! Can I get an amen?"
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According to teh interwebz hamsters:
"In the vast majority of cases the high street in a town or village is the main commercial or shopping thoroughfare. The name seems to have emerged in the 12th century when the word 'high' began to be used to indicate something or someone of a higher, or more important, status than others."
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The high street of a British town is what might be called the main street in the US.
“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”
― Christopher Hitchens
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Bespoke suits?
It was only in wine that he laid down no limit for himself, but he did not allow himself to be confused by it.
― Confucian Analects: Rules of Confucius about his food
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I am already in category b, so what should I do now?
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Give option A a try? 
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Well, sooner or later I won't have a choice.
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China's doing very well. Wonder why?
It was only in wine that he laid down no limit for himself, but he did not allow himself to be confused by it.
― Confucian Analects: Rules of Confucius about his food
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california just imposed a 10pm to 5am, non essential, state wide lockdown for 40+ counties, until the end of December for starters, and could get extended through the new year. yikes!
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Decades ago I worked in retail and the Christmas period was where we made around two thirds of our money.
That so many shops have been forced to close over this period, even if their staff are furloughed(wages paid by the government), does not bode well for many businesses.
It's all very well not having to pay your staff but you need to make money as a business to pay the rent etc in order to keep a viable small business going.
The UK government may well be pumping billions of sterling into the economy, however there has to be a limit to this and once we are "back to normal" taxes are going to have to pay for this.
The problem I see is that there will be so many closed businesses and people dependent on government support, due to losing jobs, that it's too frightening for the UK government to think about how that tax will be raised.
“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”
― Christopher Hitchens
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GuyThiebaut wrote: ...and people dependent on government support...
I cringe at the thought of even more government control. No country deserves that.
"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." - James D. Miles
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GuyThiebaut wrote: The problem I see is that there will be so many closed businesses and people dependent on government support, due to losing jobs, that it's too frightening for the UK government to think about how that tax will be raised.
That might be applied in other countries too... Germany is going to face the very same problem.
They are now pumping money to keep "zombie" business, that won't survive anyways once "back to normal" (if... a BIG IF... that happens at all). So the only real result is, delaying the BOOOOOOMMM to the economy. But with the difference, that later there won't be so much money as now to take care of all those that will be bumped.
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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France was already broke before, so this just add-up one little stone on the debt mountain.
On a serious note, I was really surprised that so many companies could not survive a 2-month lockdown. If you do not have treasury to survive 2 months, how are you running your business...
Not everything is going bad, ask Bezos. The shame is that governments shuts down physical stores but keep online business alive - this is unfair.
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Rage wrote: The shame is that governments shuts down physical stores but keep online business alive - this is unfair.
Yeah. Totally agree.
And the worst (although now it is being pretty obvious and a lot of voices are raising) is that they are having a huge increase in benefits using the postal service (first need job, so no lockdown) people working in the logistics malls and, and, and... but not paying any taxes at all in those lands.
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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No one benefits from a lockdown. This virus doesn't care and will simply wait for the lockdown to end.
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obermd wrote: No one benefits from a lockdown. This virus doesn't care and will simply wait for the lockdown to end.
So true...
But I think that the real point is not to avoid, but to keep the numbers in a level where they can be handled with, and even that is complicated.
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Bicep - Atlas[^]
A song I just (semi-)randomly found on YouTube.
Send it to a cousin because I thought he might like it too, turned out to be one of his favorite groups already!
Apparently, Bicep have been active since 2009, but they've mainly released singles (like most DJ's do).
They're no strangers in the house and techno scene either, however I didn't know them.
I've little to say about this one, except that it was hard to pick any one track for the SOTW as I like them all.
Their self-titled album on Spotify is awesome, with Glue and Aura being two exceptional highlights.
Atlas is one of their newest tracks (and I just found out they released a new track today) from what I presume is from an upcoming album.
Looking forward to hearing more of them!
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Nice! Here's a catchy Chemical Brother's tune: Snooprah
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