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NY Landlords Suing Hundreds of Pandemic-Slammed Small Businesses for Missed Rent

36 points by AndrewBissell 6y ago

millzlane 6y ago
12 milllion are set to lose UI after Christmas. https://www.npr.org/2020/12/02/940695103/millions-face-bitter-winter-if-congress-fails-to-extend-relief-programs https://www.npr.org/2020/12/02/940695103/millions-face-bitte...
bzb6 6y ago
rubs hands
- Solocomplex 6y ago
  Can you clarify the meaning behind this comment?
  - meowster 6y ago
    I'm guessing there will be a lot of cheap business supplies hitting the market as small businesses have to liquidate. On option is if you have the capital and storage space, buy all of it up for pennies on the dollar and open up a used business equipment store. Also, there will be a lot of properties flooding the market. Maybe that would be a good time to negotiate a good deal if you wanted to open up shop.
robtherobber 6y ago
To quote Jeff Sovern, "Capitalism may be the best economic system ever devised, but one of its drawbacks is that it provides financial incentives to harm and even kill people." [1] There need to be protection mechanisms in place in order for us to reap the benefits of this system. [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/16/business/dealbook/the-risks-of-unfettered-capitalism.html https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/16/business/dealbook/the-ris... [typo]
- 0xy 6y ago
  Except in this case, the government forced the small businesses to close with the threat of life ending fines and direct enforcement action while not providing any compensation.
  - montjoy 6y ago
    As opposed to a life ending virus. There are no good options here.
    - cultofmetatron 6y ago
      The "without compensation" is the key here. I'd be all for forcing shutdown for nonessential services if the businesses were compensated by the government such that they could pay down expenses they would otherwise incur. This could easily be done by taxing amazon and other large companies that are profiting handsomely right now.
    - 0xy 6y ago
      Outdoor dining has been disallowed by many governments despite the evidence. I also fail to see how 500 people crammed into a supermarket is safer than 50 people browsing a giant hardware store.
- throwaway201103 6y ago
  To quote John Adams, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." You could probably apply that sentiment to capitalism as well.
pcdoodle 6y ago
Classy... How about sue the damn governor.
yostrovs 6y ago
In New York, the government decreed which business are essential and which are not. Now that the non essential businesses are going out of business, and dragging the rest of economy down with them, they're now a source of sorrow. In Florida, the government, recognizing that all businesses are essential for their owners and employees, has helped sustain the local economy and therefore the essential living funds for its citizenry. Just a contrast in management and long term thinking. Good luck to all the nail salons and sushi restaurants of New York City.
- engineer_22 6y ago
  Right. The problem is the Governor is still executing emergency power. The Legislature needs to get back to work and figure out a system we can live with (this is their job), instead of abdicating power to a dictator.
- nemothekid 6y ago
  Comparing Florida to New York City isn’t helpful. Florida is yet to be as impacted as New York. If you recall, nurses in New York were wearing trash bags due to the federal government still playing politics with COVID response. New York was faced with a fundementally different problem. Due to how publicly bad the response was being handled it’s likely that the economy still would have been depressed regardless if there was a state decree to shutdown. What should have been done, a long time ago at this point, was to pay businesses to shutdown as was done in almost every other comparable nation on the planet. Unfortunately the Senate has become completely inert for the past 10 years

36 points by AndrewBissell 6y ago

12 milllion are set to lose UI after Christmas. https://www.npr.org/2020/12/02/940695103/millions-face-bitter-winter-if-congress-fails-to-extend-relief-programs https://www.npr.org/2020/12/02/940695103/millions-face-bitte...

bzb6 6y ago

rubs hands

Solocomplex 6y ago
Can you clarify the meaning behind this comment?
- meowster 6y ago
  I'm guessing there will be a lot of cheap business supplies hitting the market as small businesses have to liquidate. On option is if you have the capital and storage space, buy all of it up for pennies on the dollar and open up a used business equipment store. Also, there will be a lot of properties flooding the market. Maybe that would be a good time to negotiate a good deal if you wanted to open up shop.

robtherobber 6y ago

To quote Jeff Sovern, "Capitalism may be the best economic system ever devised, but one of its drawbacks is that it provides financial incentives to harm and even kill people." [1] There need to be protection mechanisms in place in order for us to reap the benefits of this system. [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/16/business/dealbook/the-risks-of-unfettered-capitalism.html https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/16/business/dealbook/the-ris... [typo]

0xy 6y ago
Except in this case, the government forced the small businesses to close with the threat of life ending fines and direct enforcement action while not providing any compensation.
- montjoy 6y ago
  As opposed to a life ending virus. There are no good options here.
  - cultofmetatron 6y ago
    The "without compensation" is the key here. I'd be all for forcing shutdown for nonessential services if the businesses were compensated by the government such that they could pay down expenses they would otherwise incur. This could easily be done by taxing amazon and other large companies that are profiting handsomely right now.
  - 0xy 6y ago
    Outdoor dining has been disallowed by many governments despite the evidence. I also fail to see how 500 people crammed into a supermarket is safer than 50 people browsing a giant hardware store.
throwaway201103 6y ago
To quote John Adams, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." You could probably apply that sentiment to capitalism as well.

pcdoodle 6y ago

Classy... How about sue the damn governor.

yostrovs 6y ago

In New York, the government decreed which business are essential and which are not. Now that the non essential businesses are going out of business, and dragging the rest of economy down with them, they're now a source of sorrow. In Florida, the government, recognizing that all businesses are essential for their owners and employees, has helped sustain the local economy and therefore the essential living funds for its citizenry. Just a contrast in management and long term thinking. Good luck to all the nail salons and sushi restaurants of New York City.

engineer_22 6y ago
Right. The problem is the Governor is still executing emergency power. The Legislature needs to get back to work and figure out a system we can live with (this is their job), instead of abdicating power to a dictator.
nemothekid 6y ago
Comparing Florida to New York City isn’t helpful. Florida is yet to be as impacted as New York. If you recall, nurses in New York were wearing trash bags due to the federal government still playing politics with COVID response. New York was faced with a fundementally different problem. Due to how publicly bad the response was being handled it’s likely that the economy still would have been depressed regardless if there was a state decree to shutdown. What should have been done, a long time ago at this point, was to pay businesses to shutdown as was done in almost every other comparable nation on the planet. Unfortunately the Senate has become completely inert for the past 10 years