The small businessman who didn't have the
capital or the reserve to carry him under
these circumstances could very well
end up closing up.
These are the signs of the day,
and this is the reason almost
no one is here.
Nothing's moving, not even oil
spill souvenirs.
If you need a room, that's no problem,
even most of the oil spill workers have
gone home.
Check out the busy lunchtime crowd, you
won't have any trouble finding a seat.
Jack Allen had to close his restaurant
just this week, he couldn't pay his
people.
I just don't like seeing these people of
work.
And so they get their little unemployment
checks.
They got families that houses are trying
to buy most very
good workers, you know,
make sure
that there is a little bit say in the
Small Business Administration is set up
in a makeshift office in city hall on the
island.
So far, there have been one hundred and
fifty applications taken out.
About 30 are now being processed, and it
will take at least five weeks
before anyone will see the low interest
loan money that SBA loans.
And by the money, you've got another
debt, you know, if you don't
need to borrow and it's nothing that we
created. Why should we have to pay to
go out and borrow money when we couldn't
make it? There's no follow around.
The word on the island is that most of
these places and the stores and shops
are going to be closing for about a month
in hopes of trying to gear up for the
winter season ahead.
In the meantime, most of the people will
have to go on welfare or at least some
kind of unemployment compensation
until that time.
Sad part about it is that this part of
the country is rated among the lowest,
the poorest part of the
entire nation.
I'm Dan Medina the Channel 5 Action
News, South Padre Island.