This Is Very True; I See It Every Day
Many many businesses remain closed
There is now more deserted office space in Lower Manhattan because of Hurricane Sandy than there are offices in many cities. Mobile boilers line the streets. Portable generators are stacked to the curbs. Ventilation tubes coil around scaffolds, snake above sidewalks, quiver and pulse. It is as if bodies had been turned inside out, exposing the hearts, lungs and organs that are normally internal. Of course, these devices keep the buildings running in some limited ways. Still, 15 million to 18 million square feet of space is unusable, about as much as exists in any condition whatsoever in cities like Miami, Phoenix and San Diego.
There are hundreds of small businesses that aren’t coming back, thousands out of work.
Biz, Life, Makes Ya Barf | Mr. Bingley | 
December 10, 2012 7:08 am
Subscribe
Damn. I was afraid of that.
Curious how many will change their view of immigration with the underground labor force flocking to the area. A small business, bleeding cash every day while they’re closed, can choose between a licensed, insured contractor who will get to them when they can or they can get a crew of unlicensed, uninsured illegals who can do it now and do it cheaper.
Saw that internal conflict firsthand after Katrina.
Reminds me of my favorite Progressive Christmas Carol:
“Obama Ye Painful”.
What Rob says… only after Charley and Wilma.
And quite frankly, I’m quite grateful to whoever fixed our roof. (My guess is illegals, but the Landlord didn’t ask – and neither did I. Sufficed that the roof stopped leaking.)
well, many of the restaurants already employed lots of illegals, Rob, fwiw.
Burger King was offering $500 bonuses for employees after Katrina. All of their employees were either displaced to other cities or took higher-paying jobs doing recovery work. Those guys you see in the street clearing crews, who flip the signs around from “stop” to “slow” and back? After Katrina – $20/hr. Burger King pays about $8.50.