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Iowa Politics with Jeff Stein — Wed. Apr. 08, 2020

By Tim Martin Apr 9, 2020 | 6:03 AM

How Soon, and How Comfortable

We know that the state of Iowa is, in essence, shut down through the end of this month…and probably at least two weeks longer than that. But just for the sake of argument, let’s presume that the curve is flattened, we turn the corner, and we are allowed to begin the process of restoring our lives and our economy on May 1st.

How long will it be before you’re comfortable going out and resuming your normal habits? Are you going to be one of the first to enjoy a meal at a favorite restaurant…or are you going to wait a week or so to see how things go?

How long before you attend a community festival, whether a parade, a car cruise, or a concert in the local park? And even when you do go to enjoy a beautiful Iowa summer day or evening, how quickly will you flinch when you hear someone nearby cough?

Now that we’ve adapted to our grocery stores and big do-it-all stores closing at 8 in the evening, will those hours ever be extended again? Lots of these stores had already trimmed their hours in light of competition from online retailers. What impact does that have on our habits, and on wages. since fewer open store hours may mean fewer employee hours needed.

I got an email earlier this week from yet another trade group, not postponing their early June conference, but skipping it altogether this year. We’re seeing more of that, folks who send an email saying “see you next year”…as if 2020 was a nightmare, something to simply forget, something to skip.

That’s necessary, because contracts with hotels and caterers need to be cancelled earlier rather than later to avoid financial penalty clauses. But how many of us are going to want to go to a hotel conference room and gather with a hundred or more of our colleagues, anyway?

I still maintain that once the door is open, we are going to attack the outside world with a vengeance…but maybe not right away, and maybe not to the degree we once did.