I am trying to understand how "essential" is defined

Me too Marie. For awhile, liquor stores were allowed to stay open in various locations. Was that because they figured people would need to drink to be able to tolerate this lock down? Was it so they could use liquor to replace 70% alcohol (not likely) but I wondered why they were considered essential. The governor of Georgia decided he was going to reopen barber shops, hair salons, gyms and bowling alleys. Well not for nothing, I can "go bowling" on my tablet, I've cut and done my own hair for most of my life and I can work out using a few of the umpteen workout videos online. So I don't know why they were considered more essential than other businesses. I hope your hypothetical "John" doesn't happen by any of the open liquor stores. :)
 

Essential would be like buying a lawn mower to mow your lawn. Not gardening.
Buying things you need for inside the house such as drain cleaner or stuff like that. Things you need not things you want.
Essential is a need.
Example: Your sink is plugged and you need to go buy Drano. That's a need.

Wanting to plant flowers in the midst of a pandemic is not considered a need. It is a hobby or entertainment. Not a need.
 
Mike said:
I have noticed a lot more pedestrians and cars going
past my window today, also one parked outside for
several hours, it was a lady on her own who must have
been visiting somebody, all against advice.

Mike.
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Maybe she was a nurse....We have a man in back of us who has Nurse's come to his house....
 

MarciKS said:
Essential would be like buying a lawn mower to mow your lawn. Not gardening.
Buying things you need for inside the house such as drain cleaner or stuff like that. Things you need not things you want.
Essential is a need.
Example: Your sink is plugged and you need to go buy Drano. That's a need.

Wanting to plant flowers in the midst of a pandemic is not considered a need. It is a hobby or entertainment. Not a need.
Click to expand...
Maybe they want some flowers in the house to feel better...Flowers are OK....If the have the money
to buy flowers, So Be It!!!!
 
Butterfly said:
Here in NM, a store is either open or it is closed. So, if a store is open, for instance Wal-Mart, you can buy whatever they have for sale.
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That's how it is where I am, if a store is open for business, you can buy anything they have. Sounds unreasonable to choose which products won't be sold.
 
SeaBreeze said:
That's how it is where I am, if a store is open for business, you can buy anything they have. Sounds unreasonable to choose which products won't be sold.
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I think it depends on how busy a place is and how confined the customers would be. They took everything we had and pre-packaged it. They can't have any soda from the fountain. Not even ice. They get coffee but we have to serve it to them. Half our dining area at work is shut down. So it may not be that they don't want someone to buy something as much as it is how it's gonna affect the people shopping for it. These business owners are only trying to keep people safe I think.
 
From my apartment windows I can see the back doors of the bars, restaurants and a drug store that are on the main street though our city. I see the Italian restaurant's customers park there and go inside to get their orders. Some of the same people come every day. I would say they are an essential business here. Some of the other restaurants have shut down though. One is brand new and was open just a few months and now I see they have a for sale sign in front of their building. I miss the Chinese restaurants though. One was basically a take out one but you could eat inside if you wanted but nobody did. I figured they'd stay open through this but no, they are closed for now.

Personally, I miss my nail salon the most. Then my hair salon, though I color my own hair anyway and since I wear it long, I can get by without a trim for a long time.
 
Butterfly said:
I remember years ago when we were stationed in Alabama, I was frustrated to find that I couldn't buy pantyhose on a Sunday. That was back in the day when you daren't go to work in a law office barelegged and I needed them for Monday. I still think that was a weird as all getout restriction. I haven't been in Alabama in years and years, but I hope they have relaxed all those antiquated blue laws.
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I remember when I was a child, nearly everything in my home state was closed on Sundays. One pharmacy had to be open in each town/city in case someone needed an emergency prescription, and I was told the pharmacies took turns with this so each would have a chance at business.
 
Great question. Essential is whatever your governor says is essential. Liquor stores are open because the state wants the sales tax and drinkers would scream and protest this. (Also, the liquor lobby is there.) Law is inconsistent and contradictory. Hair salons could open with 1 person at a time for limited times.
It need not be all or nothing...businesses and stores would have limited hours and fewer customers allowed inside, such as pharmacies, grocery stores. What is essential to some people is inessential to others. I am against this intrusive paternalistic policy. Gives me a headache. The reasons are always monetary.
Libraries should be open at least for pickup, but they make no money, so no one cares. I do.
Over 500 businesses are open despite the law in Chicago.
 

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