We are glad so many of you enjoyed last week’s email about the ways the Obsidian team is living life during the pandemic. We hope you got some great reading, watching, and ideas out of it!

This week we want to practice taking a positive view of what is going on in the news. Here are some examples:

“The rise in people filing for unemployment is unprecedented.”​ It’s not good news that people have lost their jobs, to be sure. The good news is, thanks to the new government programs, people on unemployment are getting an additional $600 every week in their unemployment checks. This is helping to keep people afloat financially, and it’s great for the economy. If people can pay rent and bills on time and buy food and other goods, the economy won’t stagnate much.

“Big businesses are taking all of the PPP loan money.”​ While some big businesses did receive payroll protection plan loans, many gave the money back, and tens of thousands of small businesses received the PPP loans to keep their employees paid while the businesses have reductions in sales.

“The stock market has had a huge drop.” ​That is true, and it has recovered somewhat. If you purchased an S&P index fund six weeks ago, you have had a 20% return since then.

Not all news is bad, and in some cases, good things are happening in response to the bad news. As businesses and public places gradually begin to reopen, remember to take precautions and be smart about your choices. The curve is flattening in Maryland and surrounding states because we have done a good job of maintaining social distancing, practicing good hygiene like wearing masks and using hand sanitizer. Let’s keep up the great work as we begin the process of exploring what the “new normal” will look like.