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by danieltillett 2285 days ago
I like the thought of this idea, but it won’t work. If the business spends the money from the cards now then it will be on the hook for the meals later. It is basically just an interest-free loan to the business that will have to be paid back. The party that is really being bailed out here is the landlord.

A better approach would be to let the restaurant go under and have some way to pledge that you will support the new restaurant that opens when things return to normal.
2 comments
dehrmann 2285 days ago
We're better off having the government backstop this--pay the rent, pay unemployment to the employees, and have society pay at the end of the day. The tricky part is getting money where it's needed. The Fed is doing what it can, but that's basically keeping banks open.
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amelius 2284 days ago
This. It's way too complicated to let society sort this thing out by themselves. For one, because only the "visible" companies like restaurants will benefit, and e.g. companies in the supply chain will be easily forgotten.
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cakeface 2285 days ago
Interest free microloans might be exactly what is needed to keep these businesses viable. The ability to spread out the impact over a year could be critical. This might not be enough, but it's good. Better is better.

There are a variety of reasons why letting the restaurant go under is really inefficient for everyone. The overhead of shutting down one business and starting another adds up to waste.

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danieltillett 2284 days ago
It all depends on how long the shutdown goes for. If it is a couple of weeks then yes a micro loan makes sense, but if this is something that goes on for many months then not so much.

My guess is these business are just going to sit there empty and the cost of restarting should be low. If the restauranters have the money (provided by their loyal customers) they will probably go straight back into the same location where they were.

The other factor to consider is even once the restrictions are lifted it is likely that we will be in a deep recession/depression. I can’t see there being huge demand for eating out when everyone is broke.

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