Rep. Humphrey: It's time to start a discussion to re-open the state of NC in a methodical fashion
Just a few days ago, I was invited to join ReOpenNC by a Facebook friend. Curiously, I joined the group which included just over 100 members at the time. I noticed that the page began to grow with comments from everyday North Carolinians, who are scared of the financial blow to their well being. They haven’t received a paycheck in weeks and the promised federal stimulus money and state unemployment benefits were not coming fast enough, if at all.
These contractors, employees, and small business owners simply wanted to get the word out that they were ready for something to happen. Re-open the economy, but be safe and thoughtful and diligent, was their message. The ReOpenNC Facebook page now has over 24,000 members across North Carolina.
North Carolinians need to hear a pathway to reopen businesses. They are scared. Scared of the virus and scared of the uncertainty it has caused. Scared of losing their life savings. Many citizens have been denied unemployment benefits and are now being told that the federal unemployment money cannot be applied for in NC until April 25th. That means that benefits will not be paid for several more days.
This is tragic and the flow of money has taken too long. And while the virus is a new event, there are thousands of state employees who are furloughed. Many of these folks would volunteer to go to work to answer a phone for the Unemployment Security Commission, where they are trying to hire dozens of people.
We need to hear a plan. Engage healthcare professionals, but also economists and business owners in coming up with a plan. Choose a reasonable date and let’s work towards that date to slowly get things back to normal. All while keeping in mind, the health and safety aspect of such actions. I’m not advocating to release the flood gates so people can swarm to restaurants, but let’s unveil a plan that gives people hope and confidence that we WILL get back to normal at some point in the very near future. Today, citizens need something positive to look forward to.
