Hi everyone,
Hope you are doing well. I haven’t written here for more than two weeks, sorry about that. Today, I am revisiting a familiar topic of the various COVID-19 socio-economic impacts, but analyzing a different country this time- the United States.
I read this article here:
Although the United States has one of the strongest economies in the world, high inequality means that COVID-19 would put additional pressures for marginalized people who struggle to meet their basic necessities, such as food, shelter, and transportation. To summarize a blog post I wrote in March, “… [the] pandemic doesn’t affect everyone the same.” The article focuses on Kaneadsha Jones, who is a Black Female and single mother of three children for many years as she recounts her struggles seven months after the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the last blog post, I analyzed recent Statistics Canada employment data from August 2020, which reported on how COVID-19 affected the economy seven months after the beginning of the pandemic. Women were more affected by job loss than men, and racialized minorities were more affected by income insecurity than White-Canadians. By analyzing data through the lens of gender and race, we see that Kaneadsha is part of a more vulnerable population that would require more aid to weather the hardships of the pandemic. This phenomenon is similar in the United States, as “61% of families overall reported facing serious financial problems during the pandemic, while Eighty-six percent of Latino families and 66% of Black families reported financial hardship.” This means that racialized minorities face additional hardships and need targeted policies to assist them.
The article noted that Jones is not a stranger to hardship, by juggling multiple jobs to raise her family of three children as the main breadwinner for several years; the difference is that this pandemic and evident job loss puts additional pressure on segments of the population that were already struggling with the basic necessities. Although low-income people exist in both Canada and the United States, I choose to focus on the United States this time because the country has less government welfare and social security net to help the most vulnerable. The United States is the wealthiest country in the world, but it also has the biggest wealth gap. Yes, it is wealthier than Canada, but the quality of life for the average citizen in Canada is better because of more generous policies, such as responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For example, mortgage payments were frozen for six months in Canada, which meant that people who lost their jobs wouldn’t face (immediate) homelessness. This six-month grace period also applied to credit card statements too. That was for the immediate expenses; for a salary replacement, eligible applicants also received up to $2,000 in the form of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) payments. From this article, Jones received a one-time rent subsidy to cover housing, and gained other sources of income through her daughter’s disability payment and child support. While this was enough to cover shelter, there was barely enough left over to cover utility bills, food, and transportation. In the article, she received financial support from a non-profit organization; from a Canadian perspective, that was surprising. It seems that a non-profit organization stepped in to fill a gap for the American government, which seems so strange to me as a Canadian.
I also wanted to point out how timing is a factor, as “much of [the data] was collected before the end of provisions in the federal coronavirus relief act, including extra unemployment money that many families used to make up for job losses.” If economic recovery is slow, and the employment situation remains the same for the most vulnerable population, what will happen now. when aid is no longer available for those who need it most? From the government’s perspective, I understand countries around the world are in a deficit and cannot continue supporting the population, that six months of income assistance has been a burden on the government. On the other hand, citizens in the world’s greatest economy may face starvation and homeless if policies are not enacted to protect those who need it most.
What are your thoughts? My heart goes out to Americans, especially because I have relatives scattered in the West, South, and Eastern United States. Hope they are doing okay too
Many thanks,
Guest
