Thanks to business, my family and other business associates and I have been able to travel through several states, and it is clear that the Lockdown is far from over, even in the West. And that economic impacts are continuing and growing. When coupled with a brief perusal of the news (I’m still “on recess” from my usual news diet), that appears to be the case across the Fifty States and much of the planet.
I personally saw thousands of businesses still closed or with severely limited operations due to the Pandemic Panic – many hit hard NOT by government decrees but by their own corporate bosses or their masters under terms of their franchise agreements. Far too many businesses have signs posted stating the sad fact that they are permanently out of business. This is especially true in the smaller towns. (Most businesses in the very small rural/frontier towns in the Great Plains died a long time ago: now even the post offices and automated fuel stations – and sometimes schools – are closed for now. And may not be able to reopen – foreclosed, bankrupted, or just unable to get necessary operating credit and capital.
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Wyoming’s rest area crisis (Part I)
A few weeks ago, the State of Wyoming announced that a significant number of rest areas across the State were being closed permanently. The reason given was to save money; fuel excise tax revenues and sales tax revenues had dropped significantly due to the Pandemic Panic and the Lockdown – and the resulting worldwide economic collapse.
As a lover of liberty, my emotions and reasoning are very mixed in this matter. This is a good opportunity to think about and discuss socialism, government services, and the role of private businesses in past and modern societies.
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