Naples, FL — A new video released by the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) warns lawmakers of the unintended consequences of heavy-handed, government-imposed lockdowns.
The video highlights Jennine and Dave Dayler, owners of Saloon on Calhoun with Bacon in Brookfield, Wisconsin, and their efforts to maintain a small business during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Wisconsin—and across the nation—bars and restaurants have been particularly hard-hit by state and local regulations aimed at combatting the spread of COVID-19. Nationwide, nearly 100,000 restaurants have closed since the restrictions began.
The Daylers have complied with each consecutive government regulation—first, by reducing their seating capacity to 50 percent, and most recently, by reducing their capacity to 25 percent. The reduction in business has forced them to lay off staff and draw on their own life savings to stay afloat.
“Right now, we are basically spending down all of [our] life savings to the point where we are either going to close the doors from bankruptcy or the economy is going to turn around and allow us to go back to the pre-COVID numbers that was a sustainable business,” owner Dave Dayler says in the video.
Short-sighted government regulations aimed at squelching out COVID-19 fail to consider the long-term impacts on small businesses that make up the fiber of our communities. Bars and restaurants provide employment, culture, and economic stability. And for families like the Daylers, these businesses are their American Dream.
You can watch the video here.
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The Foundation for Government Accountability is a non-profit, multi-state think tank that specializes in health care, welfare, and work reform. To learn more, visit TheFGA.org