Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban doesn’t see Texas’ reopening this week as a true reopening, but rather a play by state leadership to give the impression that the economy is restarting.
“I think this is more for perception than reality, trying to create the perception that you’re opening up when you’re not really,” the billionaire Dallas investor told CNBC Friday morning. “I think it’s more show than go, but we’ll see what happens.”
Cuban said he supports the state’s decision to expand curbside pickup to all retail businesses, but asserts that the costs of reopening under Gov. Abbott’s new restrictions will be a non-starter for a large number of smaller companies because it’ll be too costly to operate at reduced capacity.
He also questioned whether it’s a good idea to force employees of restaurants whose income is mostly comprised of tips to return to work, trading unemployment benefits for a quarter or less of their typical income.
“Unless an employer is going to guarantee them a much higher rate, because you’re going to have a diminished number of customers, then they’re not going to want to come back to work,” said Cuban.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott lifted his statewide stay-at-home order Friday, allowing retailers and restaurants to open, but only at 25% normal operating capacity to allow for social distancing. The enforcement of those caps on operating capacity and guest occupancy in restaurants will be left up to local governments.
“What we’re really seeing is just a small subset of businesses making themselves available to the public,” Cuban said. “I think that’ll be some good knowledge for us and we’ll see what happens.”
Additionally, Cuban questioned whether Abbott and his committee to reopen the state adequately considered the cost of opening businesses safely – something he’s been vocal about in the past.
“Do you have to deal with your HVAC system? What about sterilization? What about disposal of masks or other things?” he said. “There’s all these downstream issues that really haven’t been addressed yet and small businesses haven’t been provided the support they need to actually get open.”
Cuban was recently named to President Trump’s Economic Advisory Council, which has been tasked with giving the president input for reopening the U.S. economy. In a video conference with Dallas City Council this week, Cuban said his role on that committee has shifted from advising on sports to also giving input on small business.
He’s an investor in many early stage companies as a star of the popular TV show, Shark Tank.
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