No one is arguing that they didn't accomplish stamping down COVID. What we are saying is that once that mission was accomplished they should have began pivoting to start saving livelihoods next. Instead they just sat back and let all the businesses struggling to hang on in limbo without giving any clear direction or timelines so that they could plan appropriately. Now you are starting to see what that period of inaction is creating. The government in my opinion was short sighted thinking they could stall until July 31st because all the unemployed had an extra $600. What they don't seem to realize or care is that small businesses can't wait until July 31st. The PPP money helps, but it will only buffer you for a short while. You have a window of opportunity to make as much money as possible once things open up due to the pent up demand, but eventually the demand will decrease because COVID still exist so consumer confidence is still low. So the money that you made during that window along with the PPP money will now help a small business weather the storm until this all passes over which could take a year or so.
Hawaii is a tourist industry and right now there is pent up demand for vacationing this summer, however if Hawaii isn't opened up in time for peak vacation season then that pent up demand will be spent elsewhere. So now Hawaii small businesses basically spent all their PPP money just to pay the bills and their employees while things are still shut down making them no revenue, they miss out on peak vacationing season, and if they do eventually open up it will be during low season with alot less business and you can see how it is now game over for the Hawaiian economy as more and more small business shut their doors for good. And all those people that were getting unemployment until July 31st will now not have a job to go back to. This will then cause a domino effect as this will drain what little the Hawaii government has for unemployment insurance causing them to borrow more money, which will then cause them to eventually have to cut jobs which would then take even more money out of the Hawaii economy which would then further kill more businesses which would then reduce tax collection which would lead to more job losses which would then.....so on and so on.
Things will only get worse for the people of Hawaii not better if you can not learn to live with COVID. The curve was flat sometime in mid April, and Hawaii should have had a plan ready by that point to be implemented within the next few weeks. Instead it's now two months later and there is still no plan, no direction, no answers, and more promises of things that they are working on and told us about since months ago but when the heck are they actually going to implement it? They keep talking about this increase testing and contact tracing nonstop for months, but have they done it? Nope still nothing, and now this new plan is more of the same. All talk with no action until it is too late.
