Small Business Closures Due to COVID-19
Abstract
The issue of small business closures has significantly increased in Portland, Oregon since the COVID-19 pandemic. Local food, grocer, and retail stores face temporary and permanent closures as social distancing and safety measures are held in place to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Our proposed solutions intend to alleviate financial burdens placed on local businesses while also considering the impacts on the environment and social capital. Most importantly, Portland will address these three factors with the creation of a business-oriented co-op, a democratically run organization for the benefit of its members. Research on this topic has revealed that small businesses face the most financial difficulty in paying rent with the limited income made during this time. Current rent relief and eviction moratorium programs fail to equally include small businesses within their pool of applicants, further exacerbating financial constraints.
Moreover, our proposal intends to minimize the negative effect which the pandemic has had on the environment and sustainable practices in small businesses. Lastly, our solutions will renew Portland’s social life with safe outdoor activities and social interactions that promote local businesses. Our proposed solutions take a comprehensive approach on small business closures in Portland by developing a co-op to improve the social, economic, and environmental aspects which impact local businesses. Our solutions will be funded by local and central government initiatives which are not only feasible but increasingly available during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Moreover, our co-op will be financially self-sustained in order to increase its longevity. Overall, our anticipated cost benefit analysis prepares us to determine which solutions to prioritize as our proposed funding may be unable to support each component of our solution.
