Jack of Harts

One year ago, the economy was humming. My hometown had an unemployment rate of something like 1%, which is the same as saying that everybody who wanted a job had a job. The trick was finding people who wanted to work for their money. Then we started “14 Days to Flatten the Curve,” to slow down the growth of the Wuhan Virus and keep the hospitals from being overloaded. That quickly transitioned into “Lockdowns Save Lives,” the never-ending effort to stop the spread at all. The government and government scientists dictated what businesses or schools were allowed to stay open and paid people not to work. Those businesses like mine that were deemed essential had to let many people go, and then had trouble finding people for what work remained when the government paid them not to. One year later, finding people who want to work for their money is still the big trick.