A tale of two economies
Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your fathers? (Joel 1:2)
As I listened to the radio, it struck me that there are two economies at work in our society. There is the one I have spent my whole adult life in, where I get paid monthly and my income depends very little on the whims of the spending public: teacher, vicar, medic, retired. The money comes in and if people stop spending it'll be years before it affects me. Then there is the economy where every day, sometimes every hour or every minute, the readiness of consumers, users, travellers, holidaymakers and so on, to part with their cash, directly and immediately affects income. For many of these businesses, pubs, shops, cafés, airline ticket sales, their income has collapsed while their outgoings have remained much the same.
In the Irish potato famine, the subsistence crop was devastated by blight. Cash crops continued to be exported and the merchants and landowners were relatively unaffected by the disaster as it unfolded. In some cases they continued to demand rent. Again there were two economies. One survived unscathed. The other saw death all around. If those who were unaffected had immediately altered their behaviour many would have been saved. So I have a suggestion. Those of us currently financially untouched by the restrictions imposed on business continue to spend. Work out what we would have spent in the pub and drop it through the door in an envelope or order beer from them on the phone. Imagine our shopping trip and do it all virtually, buying the same amount from the same stores. Government can only do so much. Maybe we can do some of the rest.
As I listened to the radio, it struck me that there are two economies at work in our society. There is the one I have spent my whole adult life in, where I get paid monthly and my income depends very little on the whims of the spending public: teacher, vicar, medic, retired. The money comes in and if people stop spending it'll be years before it affects me. Then there is the economy where every day, sometimes every hour or every minute, the readiness of consumers, users, travellers, holidaymakers and so on, to part with their cash, directly and immediately affects income. For many of these businesses, pubs, shops, cafés, airline ticket sales, their income has collapsed while their outgoings have remained much the same.
In the Irish potato famine, the subsistence crop was devastated by blight. Cash crops continued to be exported and the merchants and landowners were relatively unaffected by the disaster as it unfolded. In some cases they continued to demand rent. Again there were two economies. One survived unscathed. The other saw death all around. If those who were unaffected had immediately altered their behaviour many would have been saved. So I have a suggestion. Those of us currently financially untouched by the restrictions imposed on business continue to spend. Work out what we would have spent in the pub and drop it through the door in an envelope or order beer from them on the phone. Imagine our shopping trip and do it all virtually, buying the same amount from the same stores. Government can only do so much. Maybe we can do some of the rest.
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| The Rose and Crown, Bradford Abbas, with St Mary's in the background |
Thank you George, an excellent idea. Pets Haven, our lovely local kennels, is losing bookings fast, so can I suggest if anyone has cancelled their pet's booking, maybe sending a part payment, or donation to help cover the loss? Small businesses will suffer badly over the next few months, and we will need them when we get out of self isolation!
ReplyDeleteWhat a good idea. Some of these vital local businesses will disappear for good if we are not very careful.
DeleteI understand that the Marie Curie daffodil collections are also not going ahead this year and this charity will loose out enormously because of this
ReplyDelete