...until unemployment insurance runs out. People like that don't understand that it's not forever.

Or worse, they run it out, go back to work, then there's another lock-down because infection rates go up. Now they're not eligible for unemployment at all because they haven't paid into the system for too long.

(At least that's how it works in the three states where I have experience filing for unemployment. I doubt that California lets people collect money forever.)

There's likely to be a teary-eyed politician who goes up in front of Congress as unemployment benefits end and insists they be renewed because it's almost Christmas and how heartless must you be to take food out of an orphans mouth during the holiday season yada yada

There's a long history of this happening in the USA if you're interested: https://www.amazon.com/High-Cost-Good-Intentions-Entitlement...

Once he is allowed to re-open, won't the first issue go away as well? I believe unemployment benefits are contingent on not having a job to go back to. If they're allowed to return to work and your friend wants them back, then they couldn't choose to stay home and continue to collect unemployment.

The other perversity is that grant conversion, i.e., forgiveness of the PPP loan, is contingent on rehiring. If the requisite number of former employees do not return, the business will be required to repay, and that is tantamount to paying employees with no ROI.

Non essential businesses are being reopened gradually based on risk. It's not like everyone is shut down for 3 months, then the next day everyone is open. Newsom just said today that pet grooming is next. However other businesses like concert venues will probably have to wait until phase 4

Pet grooming has been classified as essential (by California) since late April. Our local groomer reopened quickly after that. There might be some cities that have other restrictions, but grooming is already open in most places.

> None of his employees want to work because 1. they earn more on unemployment

He should pay his employees more money.

He raises prices to support higher pay, dog grooming now costs $500, none of his former customers can afford it, the company goes bankrupt and the employees are back on unemployment again.

You can't just pretend that every business can magically afford to raise wages. This isn't Apple paying kids in China 50 cents to build an iPhone they sell for $1,000, this is a local business that's probably barely able to pay the founder a middle-class salary in the best of times.