BUSINESS NEWS
2
COAST RIVER BUSINESS JOURNAL
Publisher’s Notebook
July 2021 Matt Winters
Time to set the stage for the roaring 2020s
The past year and a half — starting with the fi rst vague news about a
new virus from China — is deeply stamped into the memories of all we
survivors. Unlike the half-forgotten great infl uenza pandemic of 1918-19,
in our age of breathless 24/7 news coverage there’s no chance COVID-19
will ever be swept under the rug.
Though the pandemic still is not entirely over, Oregon and Washing-
ton just fi nally lifted mandatory orders that made most of 2020 and the
fi rst months of 2021 so unpleasant for so many. Face masks aren’t really
any big deal, but needing to remember and wear them in so many settings
became a burden — one that most endured without complaint, but which
some equated to an unbearable dictatorial edict. And this confl ict upset all
Americans, who fundamentally want to get along and be left to coexist in
peace.
Social distancing and limits on the numbers of people allowed in busi-
nesses and other inside spaces were similarly inconvenient for customers.
But they weren’t genuinely burdensome — unless you were the business
owner or venue operator, or the employees they were forced to lay off . The
past 15 months have seen many sleepless nights spent wondering how to
pay the bills.
Thanks to aggressive relief measures initiated by the Trump adminis-
tration and expanded under President Biden, the damage to downtowns
and households has been kept under control. What could have become a
second Great Depression has instead become a better controlled chapter
in capitalism’s endless cycle of “creative destruction,” in which enthusias-
tic new ideas replace businesses that were weak or outmoded. Empty retail
spaces fi ll back up again. Workers forced from one job move onto others.
And family fi nances return to equilibrium as income returns.
Here on the coast, though we certainly weren’t spared from economic
pain and the heartache of illnesses and deaths, we can count ourselves very
lucky or smart to live in an area that turned into a safe retreat. This spring
and summer have been extraordinarily busy, and there is no immediate end
in sight. More are visiting than ever before, and a surprising number of peo-
ple are moving here. This injects millions into the local economy, money
that diff erentiates us from most places in the nation that lack our superb
scenery, cultural resources, saltwater access and delicious food.
We can help ensure ongoing prosperity by taking none of this for
granted. There will never be a better time to practice our best customer-ser-
vice skills. Within the limitations of staffi ng constraints, all businesses must
do our best to off er high-quality products and services as conveniently and
inexpensively as possible. Just because our communities are popular now
doesn’t mean they will be in two or fi ve years. Friendly and competent ser-
vice now will pay future dividends.
Beyond doing our best for everyone who visits and lives here, the next
couple years off er continuing opportunities to reassess where we are and
what we do as businesses and individuals. “Life is short” is the truest of all
cliches. If we still love what we do, let’s do it with all our imagination and
might. But if we don’t love it, this hopefully fading crisis off ers the best
chance ever to explore something new — a new commitment to excel-
lence while having fun, a time to experiment with new products and busi-
ness concepts, a chance to live in a new place or live in this old place in
novel ways.
This summer — not quite post-COVID but an infi nity better than last
summer — can be the start of the roaring 2020s. Let’s safeguard all we love
here, while setting the stage for a fresh chapter of prosperity.
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