Economic Conditions - Nashville, TN, U.S., Global

[markhollin]

Indeed, Nashville SC will also play games in Sept. without fans in the stands.

Additionally, the SEC is telling Vandy and other university's to make up their own minds about whether to have fans in attendance at games initially.

More at The Tennessean here:

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2020/08/18/titans-nashville-sc-game-attendance-fans/3390297001/

And behind the NBJ paywall here:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2020/08/18/titans-nashvillesc-vanderbilt-fans-in-stands.html?iana=hpmvp_nsh_news_headline

[LA_TN]

6 hours ago, markhollin said:

Additionally, the SEC is telling Vandy and other university's to make up their own minds about whether to have fans in attendance at games initially.

Is that really an issue for Vandy? 

**Sorry, I couldn't resist

[LA_TN]

I'm hearing that Tootsie's Orchid Lounge will reopen as Tootsie's Bar and Grill, adding steaks and pork chops to the menu; and they have already obtained their restaurant license from the state

[donNdonelson2]

22 minutes ago, LA_TN said:

I'm hearing that Tootsie's Orchid Lounge will reopen as Tootsie's Bar and Grill, adding steaks and pork chops to the menu; and they have already obtained their restaurant license from the state

Tennessean article stated that the name would remain Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge.

[markhollin]

Colliers Nashville commercial real estate index drops in Q2 of 2020, but firm sees an uptick in sight.

More behind the NBJ paywall here:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2020/08/19/colliers-cre-index-nashville-pandemic-q2-reading.html?ana=twt

 

[smeagolsfree]

8 hours ago, donNdonelson2 said:

Tennessean article stated that the name would remain Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge.

https://www.wkrn.com/news/tootsies-to-reopen-as-bar-and-grill/

 

Seems as if there is truth to the rumors so they may be in fact doing this.

[Nash_12South]

I think every bar that can afford to add dining, will do so too. I doubt this is the last time we will have some form of pandemic. 

[Rockatansky]

5 hours ago, Nash_12South said:

 I doubt this is the last time we will have some form of pandemic. 

I mean its been 100 years since the last one, so odds are this will be our one and only. <crosses fingers>

[donNdonelson2]

6 hours ago, smeagolsfree said:

https://www.wkrn.com/news/tootsies-to-reopen-as-bar-and-grill/

 

Seems as if there is truth to the rumors so they may be in fact doing this.

Here is a screenshot from the article from Tennessean online. New name or not, it will be open as a restaurant. My original comment was only in reference to the potential name change.

[Armacing]

23 minutes ago, Rockatansky said:

I mean its been 100 years since the last one, so odds are this will be our one and only. <crosses fingers>

I don't know.  In my opinion these mass infection events are becoming more common, and there are scientific reasons why they would be.  We had SARS, then Bird Flu, then Swine Flu, Then MERS, now COVID.  Plus there were other localized outbreaks like Hanta Virus and Nipah Virus.  The general concept is that as people come into closer contact with wild animals due to habitat encroachment, this exposure to novel pathogens interacts with the increasing intensity of industrial-scale animal farming (and the unsanitary conditions that come along with that).  The result is more frequent exposure to novel viruses, and industrial scale incubation of novel viral features so that the virus can cycle through millions of iterations of it's genetic attributes in an environment within close proximity to humans - thus leading to human spread.

I saw a chart somewhere a while back that showed most major plagues were from diseases that started in animals and jumped to humans.  There is every reason to believe that as the developing world tries to raise the amount of proteins in the human diet by increasingly intensive animal farming, this will increase this phenomenon.  Combine this with growing bacterial resistance to antibotics and growing fungal resistance to anti-fungal drugs, and I believe we have storm clouds on the horizon.

In my opinion there needs to be a wholesale re-imagining of how(and why) drugs and therapies are designed.  The fact that drug companies spend millions (billions?) on developing things like viagra and all of the copy-cat drugs while Malaria and AIDS remain uncured is unconscionable.  Like, I know things are difficult for you in the bedroom, but millions of people are dying in the malaria zones.  Any system that prioritizes lifestyle drugs ahead of urgently needed remedies to life-threatening diseases is fundamentally flawed.   Whenever I see one of those stupid commercials like "Zombifia can help with your social anxiety" I just have to shake my head in disbelief that a team of scientists spent who knows how long working on a drug to help people who have emotional problems when millions are dying from infectious diseases.   Not that I'm invalidating that person's social anxiety, but in the hierarchy of needs, they come after the people who need life-saving cures.  Just go hide in a closet or something while those scientists are working on a cure to save millions of people from horrible deaths.

[ArchitectBarbie]

2 hours ago, Rockatansky said:

I mean its been 100 years since the last one, so odds are this will be our one and only. <crosses fingers>

Highly recommend the series called Explained on Netflix, specifically the episode titled, The Next Pandemic.  Released prior to Covid-19 Pandemic.

[donNdonelson2]

2 hours ago, Armacing said:

The fact that drug companies spend millions (billions?) on developing things like viagra and all of the copy-cat drugs while Malaria and AIDS remain uncured is unconscionable.

Sildenafil (viagra) was originally developed by Pfizer  as a treatment for hypertension and angina pectoris. It was during clinical trials that the side effect of “male enhancement” was discovered.

[MLBrumby]

I think there was also a hair growth drug that was discovered in a similar way. 

[DDIG]

Nashville down to only 2,600 active cases (4,500 start of August) and a really good transmission rate below .89.

[Tennessine]

7 hours ago, Armacing said:

In my opinion there needs to be a wholesale re-imagining of how(and why) drugs and therapies are designed.  The fact that drug companies spend millions (billions?) on developing things like viagra and all of the copy-cat drugs while Malaria and AIDS remain uncured is unconscionable.  Like, I know things are difficult for you in the bedroom, but millions of people are dying in the malaria zones.  Any system that prioritizes lifestyle drugs ahead of urgently needed remedies to life-threatening diseases is fundamentally flawed.   Whenever I see one of those stupid commercials like "Zombifia can help with your social anxiety" I just have to shake my head in disbelief that a team of scientists spent who knows how long working on a drug to help people who have emotional problems when millions are dying from infectious diseases.   Not that I'm invalidating that person's social anxiety, but in the hierarchy of needs, they come after the people who need life-saving cures.  Just go hide in a closet or something while those scientists are working on a cure to save millions of people from horrible deaths.

That would require a restructuring of the pharmaceutical market with lots of government oversight to redirect R&D elsewhere. Those drugs are in such magnitude because the demand is there. Wealthier people are more commonly diagnosed with mental disorders, as they can afford medication management and therapy, and thus the market is there for those drugs.

As far as lifestyle drugs are concerned, such as ED drugs, well, there's this:

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/us-government-subsidize-viagra/

 

Big pharma would pretty much have to be forced to realign itself to cure diseases that disproportionately afflict the poor, and even then, there's no guarantee that will solve the issue (though it would certainly alleviate it). And who knows what kind of repercussions would ensue from tampering with that existing free market.

 

But anyways, in principle, I somewhat agree with what you said.

 

 

[Armacing]

12 hours ago, Tennessine said:

That would require a restructuring of the pharmaceutical market with lots of government oversight to redirect R&D elsewhere. Those drugs are in such magnitude because the demand is there. Wealthier people are more commonly diagnosed with mental disorders, as they can afford medication management and therapy, and thus the market is there for those drugs.

As far as lifestyle drugs are concerned, such as ED drugs, well, there's this:

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/us-government-subsidize-viagra/

 

Big pharma would pretty much have to be forced to realign itself to cure diseases that disproportionately afflict the poor, and even then, there's no guarantee that will solve the issue (though it would certainly alleviate it). And who knows what kind of repercussions would ensue from tampering with that existing free market.

 

But anyways, in principle, I somewhat agree with what you said.

In general, I like what you said.  Those who follow my posts know that I am no fan of government intervention - so kudos to you for defending the idea of a free market.  I would argue that we do not have a free market in medicine and pharma, and that is why investment is so skewed towards lifestyle drugs.   

At the risk of derailing the conversation, let me just try a 1-sentence summary of where I'm coming from:  Imagine a world with no patent laws where insurance companies own the hospitals and drug manufacturers, and the insurance policies are structured in such a way that it costs the insurance company way more money if you die than it does to develop drugs that cure the most dangerous illnesses.  In a world like that, the medical industry would make money by keeping people alive and curing illnesses, not by chasing after patents or niche markets with high rates of reimbursement.

[DDIG]

Nashville now below 2,300 active cases. The state had only 667 cases on a less than 5% positive rate. These trends are holding firm across the south regardless of approach. Seems like the virus is in a natural burn out right now in former hot areas.

[markhollin]

Tennessee's booming tourism industry hit its 10th consecutive year of record-high growth in 2019, according to newly released data.

It was off to an even stronger start in 2020 until the COVID-19 pandemic created the largest crisis ever for the leisure, hospitality and tourism sectors.

Looks like it will take a $10 billion decline this year.

More at The Tennessean here:

https://www.tennessean.com/story/money/2020/08/26/tennessee-tourism-was-rapidly-growing-may-lose-10-billion-over-covid-19-2020/3434105001/

[downtownresident]

A key metric to bring up to all of the anti-tourism folks is the tax savings, which for Davidson Co equals out to $2,038/year. 

[markhollin]

Nashville live music industry on verge of calamity due to pandemic, asks government for help:

https://tennesseelookout.com/2020/08/26/nashville-live-music-industry-on-the-brink-of-calamity-asks-government-for-help/

[Nash_12South]

At the mayor's news conference this morning, it looks like starting on Sept. 1, socially distanced seating at bars will return. Transportation businesses can reopen to 10 folks with lots of rules. Bars can go from 25 at seats to an additional 25 if seated outside. When asked, the mayor said we are not returning to Phase 3, yet. Nothing in writing  from metro, yet, to share.

[DDIG]

1 hour ago, Nash_12South said:

At the mayor's news conference this morning, it looks like starting on Sept. 1, socially distanced seating at bars will return. Transportation businesses can reopen to 10 folks with lots of rules. Bars can go from 25 at seats to an additional 25 if seated outside. When asked, the mayor said we are not returning to Phase 3, yet. Nothing in writing  from metro, yet, to share.

Doesn't change a whole lot for bars. Can only have 25 still inside and if you don't have outdoor / rooftop for that extra 25 you are out of luck. I wonder if they'll open up the door for bars to add outdoor seating on the sidewalk?

Of ironic note, venues can open for special events with a capacity of 125 people, but my kid (who is in the lowest risk, lowest transmission group) can't go to school. Go figure.

[nashvylle]

Transportation businesses can only have 10 people? I would be ecstatic if metro buses had 10 people in them. 

[nashvylle]

On 8/21/2020 at 11:57 AM, Armacing said:

At the risk of derailing the conversation, let me just try a 1-sentence summary of where I'm coming from:  Imagine a world with no patent laws where insurance companies own the hospitals and drug manufacturers, and the insurance policies are structured in such a way that it costs the insurance company way more money if you die than it does to develop drugs that cure the most dangerous illnesses.  In a world like that, the medical industry would make money by keeping people alive and curing illnesses, not by chasing after patents or niche markets with high rates of reimbursement.

How would this work? The government charges the insurance companies when someone dies?

[Armacing]

21 minutes ago, nashvylle said:

How would this work? The government charges the insurance companies when someone dies?

No, when you buy your life insurance and medical insurance (from the same company), the life policy pays out dollars way higher than the cost incurred by the medical insurance policy.  Then you only get care from the hospitals owned by your insurance company, so they have a financial incentive to make sure their hospitals have the highest possible cure/survival rate.  Competing companies would go out of their way to offer plans and services to consumers that are quite obviously structured to showcase the superior medical outcomes at their facilities, and the dollars behind those superior outcomes would be how they demonstrate their quality.  Kind of like a very generous long-term full-coverage warranty on a new car is how they prove that their quality is ultra-high.  A  car company would quickly go out of business offering a generous warranty if they were incurring tons of repair expense.  Same concept with the insurance/hospital companies.  Not only would they incur negative press for bad outcomes, but their pay-outs would quickly bankrupt the company if their outcomes weren't good enough.