Clearly, they don't give a damn about us - for most business owners any help from the government would have been very welcome indeed especially considering that small businesses employ the largest number of workers and pay the most in taxes but I guess sending funds to Ukraine is more important than that.
No words.
Local restaurants across the country expected help but the Senate couldn’t finish the job,” Erika Polmar, executive director of the Independent Restaurant Coalition, said in a statement. “Neighborhood restaurants nationwide have held out hope for this program, selling their homes, cashing out retirement funds, or taking personal loans in an effort to keep their employees working and their doors open.
The messaging coming from government is not very encouraging, on the one hand they won't print more money to help small businesses but they're sure to warn us of impending Food and Diesel shortages. In fact, the Diesel price/shortages problem alone is problematic for most if not all of the supply daisy chain right now. Consumers are starting to change their spending habits and that is both helping and hurting different businesses depending on what they do.
This constant state of flux combined with shifting demands makes an already difficult job impossible. None of my clients can plan in this environment and they're constantly dealing with one or the other unexpected issue. Usually that's just part of doing business but this level of instability is unsustainable for most businesses except those who receive support like, you know, $48 Billion Dollars of our own tax money! It's always the big-box stores that weather the storm better and that's by design.
The Consumer is going to be important to watch as the bite of shortages and inflation dig into their budget.
Probably the most important question right now - how can the consumer hold up while credit card debt rising, car loans rising, home mortgage costs rising, utility bills rising, food bills rising and inflation adjusted wages declining? The net net is that household savings are declining and inventories across goods and real estate are starting to go up. The median home price to median income was around 5x in 2008/09 and now it is around 7x. Unemployment and housing are key shoes to drop.
I sure wish I had better news to report but I call it like I see it and let the chips fall where they may.
The fact is there is a lot of demand for both products and services even with prices increasing sometimes 2-3x! Everything from Airline Tickets to Rolex Watches are experiencing massive demand spikes and the supply chain issues just make it worse.
We're experiencing adversity on many fronts, this is the time when businesses can be destroyed or grow bigger and more profitable; timing is everything.
And Capital!