Mark Green: COVID stimulus handouts have affected businesses across Tennessee | Opinion

The unemployment increases passed by Congress are supposed to be temporary backstops for employees against the government forcing businesses to shut down, not a deterrence from work.

Mark Green
Guest Columnist
  • Congressman Mark Green, R-Clarksville, represents District 7 in the U.S. House of Representatives.

America’s Main Street is resilient, but even the best of businesses can’t compete when government pays people to stay home.

From labor shortages to shuttered businesses, coronavirus relief in the form of stimulus payments and increased unemployment benefits has had devastating and unintended consequences in Tennessee.

Here are some of the real stories of lives affected when government “help” hurts.

Why Cindy Sueiro said she closed G's Pancake House

Cindy Sueiro, one of my constituents, shared with me that stimulus payments and increased unemployment benefits have forced her business of nearly 50 years to close.

Ms. Sueiro owned and operated G’s Pancake House in Clarksville, Tennessee. This restaurant has been a staple of our community since Ms. Sueiro’s father, “Mr. G,” opened it in 1972.

Customers sit down for lunch in the booths at G's Pancake House in Clarksville, Tenn., on Tuesday, March 30, 2021.

Eugene Sueiro fled the Castro regime in the 1950s before joining the Army and opening his restaurant, which served some of the best pancakes in town. Mr. Sueiro told his daughter, Cindy, that he chose Clarksville as the site of his restaurant because of its proximity to Fort Campbell.

He said he wanted a place that felt like home— and for him, the Army was home. In turn, the restaurant gave my family and many of our soldiers at Fort Campbell a taste of home for almost five decades. 

Ms. Sueiro told me that her employees began quitting after receiving a second stimulus payment. Eighteen employees dwindled to six. Ms. Sueiro knew the business was in trouble.

“I believe one of the major issues we face as small businesses is the lack of employable workers. They have zero incentive to come to work,” she told me. Ms. Sueiro recalled employees asking her, “Why work? I can make more on unemployment and do nothing.”

(Editor's note: G's Pancake House's Oak Grove, Kentucky location is still open).

More:G'S Pancake House to close its first location in Clarksville

Jack Sammons said one third of his staff left their jobs

This factor has been a major problem for small businesses throughout the country. How are small businesses expected to compete with handouts from Uncle Sam, especially when many businesses were shut down for months on end or told to operate at a lower capacity?

“Add the stimulus into the mix, and we have nothing to fight back with,” Ms. Sueiro said.

Three hours away, Jack Sammons, president of a large hair care manufacturing company in Memphis also shared his company’s struggles.

Mr. Sammons’ company purchases healthy lunches from local restaurants every day for its employees. Since the start of the pandemic, Mr. Sammons’ company has been losing workers.

After President Biden’s stimulus checks hit bank accounts, 38 of his 115 employees ate their lunch and then walked off the job before finishing their shift. Mr. Sammons explained that he doesn't blame his employees for thinking stimulus and unemployment benefits are preferable to a paycheck, but he does blame the government for making staying home so profitable.

He said, “Stimulus checks have become so routine that a percent of the workforce now thinks there is no need to hold a job.”

April 12, 2018 - (Left to right) - Jack Sammons, Youth Programs, Inc., David Bronczek, president and chief operating officer, FedEx, Justin Thomas, 2017 FedExCup champion, and Richard Shadyac Jr., president and CEO, ALSAC/St. Jude, converse following a toast at a PGA Tour press conference at Shelby Farms Park on Thursday. The PGA announced it's bringing the World Golf Championships to Memphis in 2019.

Some Tennesseans are making more on unemployment than their jobs

Ms. Sueiro and Mr. Sammons are not the only business owners suffering. Stimulus checks, coupled with high unemployment benefits, have taken away many Americans’ incentive to work.

The unintended, but fully predictable, consequence? Small businesses can’t keep enough staff to stay up and running. 

The unemployment increases passed by Congress are supposed to be temporary backstops for employees against the government forcing businesses to shut down, not a deterrence from work.

Yet according to a New York Times report, Americans in more than half of states made more on unemployment during the pandemic than they did from their previous salaries. The same is true for many Tennesseans.

While Tennesseans earning $10 an hour make $400 a week, Tennesseans on enhanced unemployment benefits have earned between $675 and $875 a week during the pandemic. This disincentive to work has made it very difficult for businesses to find and keep workers. 

Despite unemployment claims, some businesses can't find workers

Many businesses find themselves between a rock and a hard place because they can’t afford to pay their staff as much as they are making on unemployment. At the end of January of this year, 18.2 million Americans were still receiving unemployment benefits, while 40% of businesses were struggling to fill positions.

As of May 1, 7,872 Tennesseans had filed new unemployment claims, and yet, employers like Mr. Sammons have been having trouble finding workers, despite paying workers $16 an hour and providing free lunch.

“I’m all about creating jobs ... that’s the American way. But when the government interferes, creating this disincentive to work, it’s contrary to everything America stands for,” explained Mr. Sammons.  

Our country is facing unprecedented supply chain challenges due to this workforce shortage. Prices are surging for metals, lumber, food, and fuel. The price of lumber has skyrocketed by 193%, causing the price of a new single-family home to increase by $24,000 since this time last year.

Mr. Sammons is experiencing this problem firsthand at his hair care manufacturing company. “We’re not closing, but we are extremely challenged due to a labor shortage. And as a result, we have just under $15 million in backorders,” he said.

Why federal government should not intervene in the economy

There is no question that the worst impact of these government policies has been on our Main Streets.

Rep. Mark Green

After losing so many employees, G’s Pancake House was forced to shut down in March of this year. A restaurant that has been around for nearly 50 years is now closed because of ill-conceived government intervention.

For many customers and employees, G’s Pancake House wasn’t just a place to earn a paycheck, it was a place to build a life and make memories. Ms. Sueiro herself had been working at the restaurant since she was 12, became a manager at 18, and took over the business at 23.

In a farewell Facebook post Ms. Sueiro wrote, “Well, our day is done and we locked the doors and had to walk away for the final time ... Just know that we feel truly blessed to be a part of this great city, and thank you all from the bottom of our hearts! Dad, Mom, I hope I made you proud. With tears in my eyes, I will say thank you for everyone’s support and close this 49 year chapter.”

There is no question that it’s our small businesses that give our communities character, and they are truly what make Tennessee and our nation great.  

Unemployment programs may be necessary for some Americans, but we must ensure that they are temporary and targeted, not a long term replacement for work.

As Mr. Sammons said, telling people to stay home because the government will look after you is not how you build a great country or a great generation.

We know that if the Federal government continues to disincentivize work, our communities will suffer. For the sake of Main Street—the backbone of our country—we must resist the Federal government’s intervention in our economy. Nothing good ever comes of it. 

Congressman Mark Green, R-Clarksville, is a physician and combat veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq; he represents District 7 in the U.S. House of Representatives. He served on the mission to capture Saddam Hussein, and he interviewed Saddam Hussein for six hours on the night of his capture. He serves on the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees.