CLEVELAND -- “Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice.”
Nelson Mandela’s words acknowledging the relationship between the fight against poverty and the pursuit of justice seem poetic during this challenging year.
The economic impact of COVID-19 has introduced poverty to many households across this country. A September 2020 survey revealed that 46% of households faced serious financial hardship during the coronavirus pandemic. This crisis has caused many elected officials, news outlets, and even entertainers to aggressively join the fight to combat poverty. And by joining the fight, I mean endorsing and facilitating financial relief to the American people who are struggling financially because of joblessness due to COVID-19.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate as of January 2020 was only 3.6%. This translated to nearly 5.9 million Americans who were unemployed for any duration of time. I’m sure most of you were not concerned with the unemployment rate in January because the topic never found its way into your personal or professional conversations.
However, those numbers violently increased upon the introduction and aftershocks of COVID-19.
The unemployment numbers rose by 1.4 million nationwide in March 2020. This drastic escalation insinuated two words: mass poverty. In response, Congress was energized and motivated to implement financial relief to assist American families. Welcome the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. This $2 trillion direct-economic-relief bill was passed by Congress with bipartisan support and signed into law by the president on March 27, 2020.
On March 30, 2020, the Treasury Department and the IRS announced that distribution of economic impact payments would be carried out automatically, with no action required for most Americans. In other words, Americans did not have to lift a finger to receive a check. Additionally, households received supplemental and extended unemployment benefits -- again, without lifting a finger. Households received checks within a couple weeks, and it helped. However, the number of unemployed Americans continued to increase.
The unemployment rate rose to 14.7% in April. The Bureau of Labor Statistics advised that the increase reflected the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to contain it.
In response, Congress immediately went back to the drawing board to negotiate a second wave of legislation to provide the American people with emergency economic relief; disappointingly, they have yet to deliver.
But on Dec. 14, lawmakers proposed two bills totaling $908 billion, addressing, among other things, unemployment benefits and financial assistance to the American people in response to COVID-19.
Assuming (hopefully) that these bills are passed, that would mean Congress has allocated $2.9 trillion within one calendar year to address one issue: poverty. Everyone should be happy, right?
Yes, I believe we all should be happy. The money Congress approves is literally a lifesaver for many households. However, I do want to pose a question. Where was this bipartisan congressional energy, motivation, and focus to address joblessness and homelessness prior to March 2020?
What about all the mothers, fathers, grandparents, and children who were living in poverty prior to the introduction of COVID-19? What about the single mother who worked two jobs in order to feed her daughters? She and her daughters were living in poverty all throughout 2019 and never received congressional help. What about the father who worked a full-time job, who is desperately trying to figure out how to provide for his family earning only minimum wage? This father and his family lived in poverty each moment of each day in 2019.
Eric Foster is a columnist for The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com.
Thirty-four million Americans lived in poverty in 2019. The federal poverty line for families of three members is $21,720. That amounts to only $1,810 per month to be divided amongst three mouths, rent/mortgage, insurance, transportation, utilities, and school supplies. Where was their “automatic distributed economic impact payment with no action required?”
The increase in unemployment rates from January 2020 to March 2020 made a lot of people concerned. That concern made its way directly to the chambers of Congress where lawmakers enacted bipartisan laws to grant immediate relief to those suffering, those American people suffering.
Since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking Black American unemployment in 1972, the unemployment rate for Black Americans has generally been double that of white Americans. In other words, low unemployment for white Americans has never meant the same thing for Black Americans. The pandemic reduced that unemployment gap dramatically.
In January 2020, when the unemployment rate was 3.6%, among the major worker groups, 3.1% were classified as white and 6% were classified as Black.
In April 2020, when the unemployment rate spiked to 14.7%, among the major worker groups, 14.2% were classified as white and 16.7% were classified as Black. Thus, the Black-white unemployment gap went from roughly double to a difference of only 2.5%. In the span of only four months.
I know some of you are rolling your eyes and accusing me of pulling the “race card.” But race matters because of how we live in this country. We live in segregated neighborhoods. If you are white, chances are the large majority of your neighborhood is also white. The same for if you are Black. What this means is that a crisis does not feel real until it affects members of our racial group.
Nearly 80% of the U.S. Congress is white. This would mean that their neighbors are likely white. So, when the unemployment rate increases dramatically among white Americans, that is when it becomes a problem that the majority of Congress hears about.
I do not mean to suggest that Congress only passed legislation because white Americans are suffering economically at similar rates as Black Americans. There are many good reasons for passing the CARES Act. Relief was necessary for everyone. I only want to point out that poverty has been an issue in our country for decades. We should ask ourselves why it took a global pandemic to gather the political will to address it.
This pandemic has revealed just how government leaders can successfully work together to address poverty when they believe they must. It has exposed the truth that poverty does not persist because government lacks the resources to fight it. Poverty persists because government lacks the will to fight it. It is our job, as citizens who elect our government officials, to recognize this truth and demand that our elected representatives operate accordingly.
Post COVID-19, let us demand our government commit an act of justice: end poverty.
Eric Foster, a community member of the editorial board, is a columnist for The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com. Foster is a lawyer in private practice. The views expressed are his own.
To reach Eric Foster: ericfosterpd@gmail.com
Have something to say about this topic?
* Send a letter to the editor, which will be considered for print publication.
* Email general questions about our editorial board or comments or corrections on this opinion column to Elizabeth Sullivan, director of opinion, at esullivan@cleveland.com.
"try" - Google News
December 16, 2020 at 05:44PM
https://ift.tt/2Wmho5S
COVID-19 shows we can fight poverty, if we try: Eric Foster - cleveland.com
"try" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3b52l6K
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "COVID-19 shows we can fight poverty, if we try: Eric Foster - cleveland.com"
Post a Comment