Recession

As Pandemic Aid Ends, Families Face Brutal New Year

November 29, 2020 Nigel Duara, Cal Matters. Educate! California, Evictions, Recession, Unemployment

California - In late 2017, a house fell on Jacques Gene. The construction foreman in Cool, east of Sacramento, was inside a half-finished home when the rolling trusses that make up the underside of the roof fell, collapsing the whole house. Gene, 46, suffered broken ribs, a punctured lung and a concussion. When his coworkers sorted through the rubble, he says, they didn’t expect to find him alive. But he found work again, earning $70,000 annually as a foreman to support his wife, their two kids and two children from a previous marriage.

COVID-19 Economy: A Deliberate Disaster

November 26, 2020 Bruce Lesnick, Counterpunch. Strategize! COVID-19, Joe Biden, Recession, Working Class

With nearly 12 million cases and a quarter million deaths in the US so far (over 55 million cases and 1.3 million deaths world-wide), the COVID 19 pandemic is ravaging civilization. The disease is on track to be the deadliest epidemic since 1918. The economic fallout for the working class has been severe. In the US, unemployment has skyrocketed, with 45.4 million new unemployment claims since March 14. At least 1/6 of those with jobs before the pandemic are now out of work. According to The New York Times, “The economic downturn is shaping up to be particularly devastating for renters, who are more likely to be lower-income and work hourly jobs cut during the pandemic.”

US Treasury Shelves $455 Billion In Unspent Stimulus

November 26, 2020 Jack Rasmus, Z Net. Educate! CARES Act, Recession, Steve Mnuchin, Treasury

Last week the US Treasury and the US Federal Reserve Bank engaged in a rare public disagreement. US Treasury Secretary, Mnuchin, in a letter to Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, last week directed the Fed to return $455 billion that the Fed was holding in reserve should future lending to banks and non-bank businesses become necessary if the US economy and markets further deteriorate in 2021. Fed chair Powell initially balked at Mnuchin’s request, replying that the Fed needed the funds to ensure market stability since the US economy was entering a “difficult period” in late 2020 and early 2021.

Food Insecurity In NYC Rises Precipitously

November 19, 2020 Sophia Chang, Gothamist. Educate! Food Insecurity, New York City (NYC), Pandemic, Recession

Food pantries in NYC are struggling to keep up with a dramatic increase in demand for assistance due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has inflamed the already desperate situation faced by many New Yorkers living at the poverty line. Before the virus tore a hole through the city's economy, some 12% of residents were already reporting food insecurity fears. That percentage has jumped to 32% of surveyed residents, according to a new report from the Robin Hood Foundation -- underscoring the need for immediate federal help as local food pantries are stretched to the limit.

Urgent Need For Further Relief

November 16, 2020 Chad Stone, Claire Zippel, Alicia Mazzara, Catlin Nchako and Arloc Sherman, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Educate! Congress, Pandemic, Poverty, Recession

Policymakers returning to work after the election must redouble their efforts to negotiate a robust relief package to address the critical health and economic challenges facing the nation. With COVID-19 still not under control — in fact, cases are spiking in many parts of the country — and the economic recovery slowing, additional well-designed relief measures are vital to relieving hardship and promoting a stronger recovery. Relief measures enacted earlier this year have mitigated hardship, but they had significant gaps; for example, the SNAP increase in the Families First Act of March left out...

Large Numbers Of People Still Filing For Unemployment Each Week

November 15, 2020 Jacob Crosse, WSWS. Educate! COVID-19, Public Education, Recession, Unemployment

For the 34th straight week, over 700,000 people filed for unemployment in the US according to the Department of Labor’s latest report. The 709,000 state claims coupled with an additional 298,154 initial claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance brings the weekly total once again to over 1 million new claims. Nearly 67 million claims have been filed since mid-March as the worst economic crisis to befall the working class in the United States since the Great Depression of the 1930s leaves millions on the brink of destitution.

Unemployment Crisis Continues Unabated

November 13, 2020 Patricia Gorky, Liberation News. Educate! Joe Biden, Recession, Socialism, Unemployment

More than 1 million people filed for unemployment assistance last week according to new figures released today. 709,000 workers requested filled out applications for traditional benefits, and slightly under 300,000 applied for the specially-created Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program. The Department of Labor’s reporting deceptively separates those who apply for standard unemployment benefits from those who apply for PUA. Similarly, official unemployment statistics only count people who have actively looked for work in the last four weeks.

More Than 14 Million May Have Lost Health Coverage

November 10, 2020 Samantha Liss, Health Care Dive. Educate! Health Insurance, Recession, Unemployment, Uninsured

In the latest analysis, researchers first tried to assess how many workers and dependents relied on job-based coverage as of March 2019. Then, using data from the Labor Department, they estimated how many workers lost jobs and how many of those had employer-based coverage. Researchers examined this information by industry, age and gender. Some industries were affected more than others and a few were almost spared entirely. "As a result, we would expect the number of people losing jobs with [employer-sponsored insurance] to vary greatly by industry, and possibly by other characteristics, such as age and gender," according to the report.

Calls For Universal Basic Income Increase As Government Support Fails

November 10, 2020 Jasmine Norden, The Canary. Create! Recession, Unemployment, United Kingdom (UK), Universal Basic Income

On 30 October, 520 MPs, councillors, peers, mayors and members of devolved assemblies, wrote to chancellor Rishi Sunak. They emphasised how current government support is leaving many families in poverty. In the letter, organised by UBI Lab Network, the elected representatives said: Millions of people have fallen through the cracks of the government’s support packages. The pandemic has left countless families facing poverty and extreme hardship. They added: With unemployment set to increase amid a shrinking job market, we urge you not to underestimate the wider costs to society of rising poverty and joblessness.

Ecosocialism: An Alternative To Global Capitalism

November 4, 2020 Hans Baer, Green Left. Create! Capitalism, climate crisis, Ecosocialism, Recession

Over the past four decades or so, various leftists have become more sensitive to the environmental degradation in developed and developing capitalist societies and post-revolutionary societies, particularly in the former Soviet Union and, in recent times, China. As a result, they have sought to develop an ecosocialism, ecoMarxism or ecological Marxism. Robert Albritton in Eco-Socialism for Now and the Future: Practical Utopias and Rational Action states that the earliest use of the term of the term ecosocialism he uncovered appeared in a pamphlet titled Eco-Socialism in a Nutshell, published in England by the Socialist Environment and Resources Association in 1980.

Gig Workers Hired To Evict People From Their Homes

October 28, 2020 Dominic Gustavo, WSWS. Educate! Evictions, Gig Workers, Pandemic, Recession

A startup company by the name of Civvl is seeking to recruit temporary “gig” workers to assist landlords in evicting tenants who have been unable to pay rent in the midst of the economic depression triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. Civvl is owned by OnQall, a developer that provides a platform for a number of other app-based services. However, Civvl is markedly different from the other apps, some of which are used for house-cleaning and mowing lawns.

Empty Plate Protest Over Vote Against Free School Meals

October 27, 2020 the Express and Star. Resist! COVID-19, Hunger, Recession, School meals

Around 20 plates with messages on were attached to the windows of Stuart Anderson's office along with a poster which said: "Your MP voted no to feeding poor kids". The plates were removed within hours of being put up but the word "scum" was then sprayed onto the office window. Mr Anderson said he and his family have also received death threats and said he had reported the intimidation and vandalism to the police. The Wolverhampton South West MP was one of 322 MPs who last week voted against a Labour motion calling for the extension of free meals during the school holidays in England until Easter 2021.

A Debt Reckoning Is Unavoidable

October 21, 2020 Aaron Karp, Waging Nonviolence. Organize! COVID-19, Debt, Recession, Unemployment

The late anthropologist David Graeber, who wrote about the 5,000-year history of debt, spoke about a strange paradox of being indebted. “The first effect of debt is to create isolation, shame, humiliation, a fear of even talking about it. On the other hand, if you look at history, the vast majority of revolts and insurrections are about debt. So in a sense it’s incredibly effective, ideologically, at isolating people. But once people overcome that isolation, the results are always explosive.” We may be heading towards such a moment.

With Evictions Looming, US Cities Seek Legal Help For Renters

October 21, 2020 Carey L. Biron, News.Trust.org. Create! Evictions, Legal System, Recession, Renter Rights

Washington - When Shalonda Glascoe fell behind on her rent as she struggled to find a job amid the coronavirus outbreak this spring, her landlord tried to kick her out of her Baltimore home - twice. Eventually, Glascoe, 47, sought free legal help, a decision she says was key in allowing her to stay in her home in the northeastern U.S. city. Without legal assistance, "I don't think I would be here right now. I think I would have lost the fight," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Over the past few months, bans on evictions during the pandemic have been enacted at the city, state and federal levels, yet landlords are still filing notices - and the rate may even be picking up, housing experts warn.

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