A great debate is now unfolding about when and how to get the Great American Bread Machine running again. There are understandable concerns about sounding a nationwide all-clear while virus infections are still raging in some locations, and there are yet-to-be-discovered hot spots still in the offing. On the other side of the debate are deep worries about how to pay the bills. While the federal government is providing temporary and meaningful assistance, we all know that this funding is like a bridge loan that enables survival until we are all back to work again.
Somehow, most of us have to get back to work. But how quickly can we do it? President Trump’s just-announced three-phase approach for reopening the economy offers some definite guidance.
The president’s guidance draws on common sense that suggests that some parts of the country, perhaps as small as counties or cities, will resume some semblance of normal life ahead of other locations that are still battling higher-level virus outbreaks. But once decisions are made to get back to work (which is to say once the phased approach is put into play), how might we identify practical procedures for making the process work? After all, people, be they employees, customers, students, or clients, will only voluntarily put themselves in harm’s way. For many, that will only happen with some assurance of safety.
Maybe, just maybe, we can learn some lessons from industries that have been exempt from the forced economic shutdowns — drug stores, grocery stores, and construction firms. These three sectors employ lots of people and are still busily engaged in day-to-day activities.
For example, the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics March Employment Situation report indicated that drug stores employed 1,052,000 people in March. That was 5,900 people, or just 0.5%, fewer than in February. Food and beverage stores employed 3,092,000 in March — just 1,100, or a small smidgen, less than the month before. Construction had 7,605,000 workers in March — down 29,000 from February, which is less than 1% lower. We wouldn’t say these sectors are prospering, but we could surely agree that they are hanging in there.
What are they doing to help make their employees and customers feel secure when at work or shopping? Different things. It varies by place and location. Some limit the number of shoppers at any one time; some use bright markings at check-out lines to help maintain distance between shoppers. Still others have rearranged the flow of customers to help reduce contact. Some retailers have added in-store shopping services, parking lot loading, and home delivery.
Construction firms now commonly require all workers on a site to be equipped with masks and gloves, which the firms provide, and to maintain distance. These same actions are commonly seen in grocery stores. Some on-site supervisors have the responsibility of monitoring the situation and attempting to influence the virus-safe behavior of all who enter a site. After all, if workers feel insecure, they still have the option of working somewhere else, especially in industries where jobs can still be had with another employer. In this way, all firms have powerful economic incentives to take care of customers and employees.
So, as we prepare to turn the lights back on in America’s battered economy, maybe it would make sense for governors and mayors to check in with the firms and industries in their areas that have continued apace during the coronavirus shutdown. The folks at the grassroots have figured out how to keep going and how to limit the virus risk while doing so.
Communicating these stories by way of social media, through town hall meetings, and other means will help spread the word. Instead of thinking there is a one-size-fits-all solution waiting to be discovered and written into the Federal Register, we should recognize and celebrate how ingenuity and common sense often interact in amazingly simple ways to carry us through challenging transitions.
Who knows? If we pay attention, we may be able to wash our hands and get back to work sooner than we think.
Bruce Yandle is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is a distinguished adjunct fellow with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and dean emeritus of the Clemson University College of Business & Behavioral Science. He developed the “Bootleggers and Baptists” political model.
