As Covid-19 continues to ravage the country, with the highest death count ever, overwhelming the healthcare system, destroying jobs and the families dependent on those paychecks, Congress finally came up with another compromised “stimulus” bill. The $900 billion bill includes a one-time $600 payment to workers and dependents making under $75,000, means-tested rent relief, a one-month extension of the eviction moratorium and an extension of federal unemployment benefits at $300/week, half of the $600 allocated before. No funds will go to states and cities, which will surely result in public employee layoffs and cuts in services. The rise in the stock market upon news of the deal makes it obvious this is another handout to corporations and their shareholders and investors.
“Without insurance, people are working full-time in this country for very little money. They’re not poor enough to get help. They don’t make enough to get by. They’re working while rationing their insulin and skipping their meds because they can’t afford food and healthcare at the same time. So shame on you, shame on you and shame on me. Shame on each and every one of us who haven’t rattled the windows of these buildings with cries of outrage at a government that thinks their office furniture is worthy of $40,000 a year and families and children aren’t!”
— Amy Jo Hutchison, Our Future West Virginia, testifying on poverty before Congress prior to Covid.
It took a threat by Bernie Sanders and his colleagues in the House to even get the measly $600 in direct payments and although there were attempts to raise it to $2000 at the outgoing president’s urging, it was shot down by the Senate. Mitch McConnell and others decided that working families are rich enough!
Meanwhile, millions of families, 56% of households, are not sure that they will be able to afford enough food. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that up to 11 million children live in households that could not afford enough to eat over the past week, and 40% of children live in a household that is either food insecure or behind on rent. The lines for food are growing across the country and for the North Texas Food Bank, 40% of the vehicles they serve are visiting for the first time; many are hungry families living in their cars.
During the last eight days of 2020, the gains of the U.S. wealthiest ten individuals increased an additional $26.5 billion bringing their total gain in wealth for the year to $346.08 billion, an increase of 47.9%. Their total wealth increased to over $1 trillion. America’s billionaires could give everybody in the country a check for $3,000 and still be richer than they were before the pandemic.
A real relief bill would have canceled mortgage and rental debt, included the expansion of Medicare and Medicaid to cover all medical debt resulting from the crisis, and provided working people with either regular monthly payments or at least 80% of their pre-Covid income.
Even with the vaccine, the economy will not be rebounding. Millions are becoming permanently unemployed. Without a real relief package, workers and their families will continue to bear the worst of the crisis that’s hitting women, children and black and brown workers the hardest. The movement must continue to demand our government provides real relief. This is a first step in securing our survival.
