to pay my local pub, restaurant and cinema

[BoringUserName00]

even though I'm not using them, just so I can support them and help keep them afloat during these difficult times?

why not donate to your local food bank?

There are extraordinary loans available to small businesses. I would rather donate to help people directly rather than businesses tbh. If the business is in trouble the money is liable to go to creditors in an insolvency, not to retain staff.

The loans and grants aren't available to childminders so if you can afford it please still pay them, at least part of their fees. Our insurance companies aren't paying our either.

I know quite a few who will go out of business because of this crisis. I'm awake worrying about my business now ☹️

Many small business are "direct to people"

I'm a thread where someone is literally asking if they should spend it on X/Y/Z it is entirely reasonable for replies to involve other suggestions.

But when that other suggestion involve a completely baseless assertion about corporations, when nothing OP had said suggested that these are the businesses local to her, it isn't reasonable. It's stupid.

@mauvaisereputation
I’m glad you’re not our chancellor!!

Would you like a job to come back to? Would you like the business to survive or someone to give you money directly for a few months? Because after that few months. You’re fucked. And there are no jobs to go back to.
How long do you think it takes to establish even a small business, up and running and breaking even?

here in Guernsey, a few non-takeaway restaurants have started providing their menu as a takeaway

One of my favourite restaurants in Jersey is too, received an email yesterday. I wonder if they could deliver to Hampshire :)

@staringatonewall

I’m glad you’re not our chancellor!!

Why? I am literally suggesting that small businesses should take advantage of the loans that the Chancellor is offering.

What I, personally, wouldn't do, is give a gift (or indeed loan) to a business without understanding its financial position. For example, does it have fixed staffing costs or does it employ staff on a zero hours basis? Is there a directors' loan account and how much is drawn on it? What kind of profits has it been making historically? Are its owners willing to put their money into supporting it? Does it have unsupportable debt? Is its tax position regular? Has it tried to renegotiate rent if rent is the main issue?

The Chancellor isn't going to be handing out any loans or grants without knowing this sort of thing and I personally wouldn't either. Others are, of course, free to make their own decisions.

As a separate point I also don't see business owners as the most vulnerable members of our society ecoomically or otherwise, and those are the people who I personally would wish emergency aid to go to. This has nothing to do with not appreciating that business owners have worked hard.

@cologne4711 Which one? While they're over in Hants could they pop by us as well? Shame they can't come over on the flybe service to S'oton…

Business owners employ people. if you keep the businesses running they can keep paying their staff. (Large businesses also tend to employ more people than small ones.)

I can't see the vote score on here anymore. Can anyone see it?

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