Posted on by Californiacontrarian

How Many More ?

Even though our lockdowns in California have recently been alleviated some, is it only a matter of time before they are put back in place? This was initially written last week, but there were so many good points that I decided to publish it today.
In California, many ordinary people are sick and tired of the lockdowns, and just how many more are falling off the lockdown wagon every day as it continues?

Elon Musk of Tesla has had enough and is moving to Texas. But what about the ordinary folk, most of whom cannot just up and move to Texas.

Those who own businesses are literally dying, and the carnage is not coming to an end. Just in the last few weeks I have heard of a few “rebels” who because they are resisting being buried alive, are beginning to do something . . . something stealthy, something undercover . . . something smart.

Up near the coast there are at least two restaurants that are using a kind of self defense. They are fighting for their livelihood, and are resisting in  the only way they how. They are staying open. One is a breakfast place and the other is an Italian place. How many of their customers are paying their bills in cash?

Hairdressers and barbers are also on death row with no end in site. There is a beauty parlor in my neighborhood that now has blackened windows. I know for a fact that the windows were not recently darkened to keep out the sun. Surely there must be some customers going into that salon (“only those that I can actually trust,” which probably excludes obvious Karens.) The last customer in that beauty salon paid cash. How many others are paying cash?

A friend of mine recently called his barber who agreed to come to his backyard to cut his hair. My friend then invited an additional four friends, all of whom needed a haircut. The payments for the five haircuts were all made in cash. 

Today, a guy that I know very very well needed a haircut very very badly. He went by his barber shop and the windows and the front door were darkened. He looked in, but the inside of the barbershop looked empty. However as he was opening his car door, the door to the barber shop opened, and he was waved in, because the barber said, “I recognized you.” This haircut + tip was a cash transaction.

Another friend of mine goes a gym in his neighborhood . . . but only through the back door. Although he hasn’t denied it, I am pretty sure that he also pays cash.

Now granted, when Elon Musk leaves everyone, including millionaire local politician Lorena Gonzalez of “F**k Elon Musk” fame, can find out how enormous the lost tax revenue to California will be after Musk leaves, but what about the lost tax revenue from the underground economy? If I know of at least a few businesses that are operating on a mainly cash only basis, how many more are doing the same thing and how much more tax revenue is California losing every day?

In a similar note are there underground gatherings here in California that are substituting for bars and restaurants for some ? Apparently there are in Chicago. From CBS Chicago:

“Mayor Lori Lightfoot on 1/14/21 said Chicago restaurants and bars need to be allowed to reopen “as quickly as possible” not just to help those businesses survive, but also to cut down on instances of private parties where people don’t take proper precautions against COVID-19.”

Hmmm . . . sounds like the mayor is trying to come up with a novel way to weasel out of a prior bad decision (closing all restaurants to indoor dining in frigid Chicago) by blaming those rebels having private parties.

Be that as it may, if these underground gatherings are occurring in Chicago, is it not reasonable to assume that similar private parties are occurring here ? If so, would there not be a consequent loss of tax revenue, similar to the underground barber shops and hair salons?

How many more underground activities are there?

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