We need a Main Street bailout plan

Jon Shell is managing director and partner at Social Capital Partners.

This is an article written in desperation. A last-ditch effort to make clear to our governments something that obviously is not yet clear to them: most local businesses will simply not survive social distancing. This week’s Economic Response Plan by the federal government, while addressing some important issues, offered only deferred taxes and a 10% wage subsidy to small and medium-sized businesses. For local businesses, suffering from sudden declines in revenue often in excess of 80%, operating on skeleton staffing, you can imagine how well this was received.