Permanent Changes

The virus outbreak will permanently change everything. While I support opening the economy back up sooner rather than later, this will not mean that people will open up. I will not.

The change will vary from person to person. While these changes for me will be until the end of the year, by that time habits are made and habits are difficult to change. Just as the Great Depression influenced several generations, this will as well. Here are my changes.

I go to church twice a month. I would go every week but the trip for the church of my choice is over an hour one way. I doubt I will go for the rest of the year, maybe not until next spring. My church has a fall convention, I have gone every year, with one exception when I did not feel conformable driving for health reasons, for almost 40 years. I will not go this year. For many people this will become a permanent habit.

I go to a restaurant 3 times a week. I have not been for two months, except for 2 drive ins. I will not go again until next spring. I expect that restaurants will open up June 1, later than everything else. Since many customers will not be there, I predict many restaurants will not open up. Locally three restaurants already closed before the crisis. One is already been converted to apartments. How many will never reopen? This will effect the economy, and has already resulted in crops being plowed under since those productss were designed for restaurants. On a personal note, I am a landlord for a restaurant.

We need to buy a couch, and a mattress. (The mattress is old, and humorously was probably used by JFK and Marilyn  Monroe.) I doubt we will buy them this year. I will probably buy a sauna for its health benefits, but that is it. A new car would also be a normal purchase right now, I have never had a car with 135,000 miles before. I will wait. Decisions like this will cascade through the economy.

We are considering moving back to San Diego. This would entail buying a house there and selling the one we live in now. Prices will drop substantially, but that effects me on both ends. I doubt I will buy a house this year. These plans may change permanently.

Retailers will be hit rather hard. While Amazon is not the cheapest, it is convinent and has a larger selection. Habits are hard to break. Since I am a retailer and rent to retailers, I may be hit hard. This will also greatly effect the economy. Retail workers buy things.

To a degree I think these changes are permanent. Things will not go back to normal.