If you’re a business owner or employee of a small business you’ll want to listen to this and share it with your friends. Barrett Hobbs talks with Ed Clay and “The Nashville Current” about how it feels like government officials in Nashville have forgotten about the economy and only have focus on Covid-19. This is an in depth discussion between two Nashville business owners dealing with a local government who seemingly can’t make up their mind.
Barrett Hobbs sits down with Ed Clay for a podcast that every person in Nashville needs to hear.
Barrett is a Nashville native and owner of Cumberland Hospitality group. He is a leader in the hospitality community and sits on multiple boards including being appointed by Mayor Cooper to the board of the Music City Center. Barrett holds nothing back in this interview detailing his experience with Mayor John Cooper and the Metro Health Department to Covid-19.
Economic solutions are given for the city and compromise is a theme to Barrett’s message. True Covid-19 data is talked about and the stunning lack of a plan by the Mayor and health department is clearly laid out when he discusses the last minute cancellation by the city for the 4th of July fireworks. Hearing the different facts given you can’t help but wonder what data city officials are really going with considering our hospitals still have plenty of room, there’s a back up plan if they ever did get full and the mortality rate nationwide is at a 10 week low. (Even with cases rising the last 3 weeks)
Later in the interview he discusses how a previous administration made horrible deals with developers and how the city basically gave away 5th and Broadway in a deal that cost Nashville 40+ million dollars while allowing outside developers to pay no property tax on 4 city blocks in the heart of downtown.
If you’ve ever wanted to know why Nashville, even in their booming economy, couldn’t give the teachers and government employees their promised pay raise, this podcast explains how bad deals made it happen. Now with Covid-19 and the seemingly draconian response to it by Mayor Cooper and the Metro Health Department, Barrett predicts if something isn’t done soon Nashville will feel a decades worth of financial pain.
Still, Barrett is an optimist and has common sense solutions for the bureaucrats ruining the lives, jobs and business of thousands of people in the city.
Last week Mayor Cooper moved Nashville back from Phase 3 to Phase 2 in a surprising turn of events. With an effort to stop a growing trend in Covid-19 cases, the city seems to be ignoring the fact that as of the last week of June there had been no Covid-19 deaths in Davidson county for those under 40 years old and only 1 death under 44.
The recent increase of Covid-19 cases nationwide and in Nashville have been largely for those under 40 years old. That said we know Covid-19 DOES kill older people and those with pre-existing conditions at a much higher rate. People under 40 can be a vector to those people and it’s the responsibility of those people to #stayaway from their older parents and grandparents and those with pre-existing conditions.
For this to work it would take two sides coming together. Those that think Covid-19 is serious and those that think it’s largely overblown. My hope is that we can build a bridge with BOTH sides and agree that it’s not that dangerous for younger people but for older people and those with pre-existing conditions it’s much more likely to be deadly. It doesn’t mean everyone under 40 will survive and it doesn’t mean everyone over 65 will die. It’s just a data based approach using something not used too much in politics these days… common sense! If people can agree on this message and largely separate older people from younger people we can get through this mess without shutting our country down again.
Nashville can be the first. We should not stay shut down and I think a better option is to empower the people of Nashville to be personally responsible and #stayaway from the most vulnerable populations. If you’re going out to restaurants and bars #stayaway from your parents and grandparents. If you are working in the service industry and you’re around people all day #stayaway from those with the highest risk. If you’re older or have a pre-existing condition #stayaway from younger people in your family.
And if you have a pre-existing condition and have to go to work lets allow the people of Nashville to find a solution to help you #stayaway from those that could be vectors.
There is no perfect solution to the pandemic but we can DRASTICALLY reduce fatalities if we have a more thoughtful, non cookie cutter approach.
Joe Fuson of Hemp Law Group talks about the unforeseen consequences of enforcing cannabis laws during the pandemic and the unjust long-lasting economic impact it
