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Press Release

“Unfolding Disaster”: Raging Virus, Spiraling Economy Highlight Need for Major Economic Relief

By December 16, 2020No Comments

US Averaging 200,000+ Cases a Day

Deaths Increase 60% in Two Weeks, Hospitalizations at All Time High

700,000+ Have Filed for Unemployment 38 Weeks in a Row

US Sees Biggest Increase in Poverty in 60 Years

Despite the first doses of a coronavirus vaccine reaching Americans this week, the pandemic is only intensifying as the holidays approach. The United States is shattering records for cases, deaths, and hospitalizations, as experts warn that the worst is yet to come. The economy is in tatters, millions are falling into poverty in the absence of decisive federal leadership. 

Senate Majority Leader McConnell must stop obstructing Congress’ efforts to pass sweeping coronavirus relief that does more than just nibble around the edges of the crisis. Americans are desperate for a life line, and legislators are running out of time to alleviate the pressures of the pandemic on suffering American families.  

The Virus Continues to Break Records, Ravage Communities Across the United States

  • The United States Has Averaged More Than 206,000 New Cases A Day Over The Past Week, A 28 Percent Increase From Two Weeks Earlier. “At least 2,957 new coronavirus deaths and 201,649 new cases were reported in the United States on Dec. 15. Over the past week, there has been an average of 206,557 cases per day, an increase of 28 percent from the average two weeks earlier.” [New York Times, 12/16/20]
  • The United States Is Reporting Six Times As Many Cases And Three Times As Many Deaths Each Day As It Did Three Months Ago. “The country reached a terrible milestone this week, with more than 3,000 deaths announced across the country on Wednesday, Dec. 9. And conditions continue to worsen. Just three months ago, cases in the U.S. were trending downward. Death reports were relatively flat. There are now nearly six times as many cases each day and three times as many deaths. Experts warn ‘the worst is yet to come.’” [New York Times, 12/16/20]
  • According To The New York Times, Deaths In The United States Have Increased By 60 Percent Over The Last Two Weeks. The New York Times’ “United States Covid Map and Case Count” reflects that over the last two weeks cases have increased by 28%, deaths have increased by 60%, and hospitalizations have increased by 17%. [New York Times, Accessed 12/16/20]
  • More Than 110,000 Americans Are Currently Hospitalized With COVID-19, The Most Since The Beginning Of The Pandemic. “And yet, even as the images of trucks, planes and unpacked boxes offered a triumphant respite for a public desperate for hope, the bad news kept knocking. The country crossed 300,000 official deaths from the coronavirus on Monday. It hit a record number of Covid-19 patients hospitalized — more than 110,000, according to the Covid Tracking Project.” [Stat News, 12/15/20]
  • Yonatan Grad, An Infectious Disease Expert At Harvard’s T.H. Chan School Of Public Health: “We Are Seeing An Unfolding Disaster.” “‘We are seeing an unfolding disaster,’ said Yonatan Grad, an infectious disease expert at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. ‘We are seeing incredibly high rates of transmission. We’re seeing increasing ICU bed occupancy, and in many places, they are running up against the limits of the resources they have available to care for people. I think it’s challenging in the extreme right now and it’s going to get worse.’” [Stat News, 12/15/20]

More Americans Are Falling Into Poverty as the Job Market Falters, Government Assistance Dries Up

Economy In Shambles As New Unemployment Claims Remain At Stubborn Highs, Job Growth Lags

  • For 38 Weeks In A Row, More Than 700,000 People In The United States Have Filed Initial  Unemployment Claims. “Last week was the 38th in a row in which at least 700,000 Americans filed first-time claims for unemployment benefits..” [CNN, 12/13/20]
  • If The United States Continues To Create New Jobs At The Current Pace, It Would Take Three Years To Return To Pre-Pandemic Employment. “An economy that seemed over the summer to be roaring back to life is facing a dark winter. In November, the U.S. created just 245,000 jobs, a pace at which it would take three and a half years to get employment back to February’s levels. Now, as cases of Covid-19 and deaths from the disease surge to record highs, states are imposing new restrictions.” [Bloomberg, 12/15/20]
  • The United States’ Economy Is Likely To End The Year With An Economy 3 Percent Smaller Than It Was When The Year Began. “The U.S. economy is likely to end the year almost 3% smaller than at the start. That’s not bad considering where things stood in the second quarter, when output collapsed at an annualized rate of more than 30%. But [for many] business owners who went into 2020 thinking they’d be riding an expansion, it feels worse. At the beginning of 2020, the U.S. economy was expected to grow by at least 2%. That means it’s closing the year roughly 5% smaller than it would have been.” [Bloomberg, 12/15/20]
  • Sixty Percent Of Businesses — An Estimated 100,000 Establishments — That Closed Temporarily During The Pandemic Are Now Closed For Good. “The coronavirus pandemic has taken a brutal toll on the U.S. economy. Job losses resulting from the health crisis wiped out years’ worth of gains, hitting women, people of color and lower-paid workers already vulnerable to economic swings the hardest. An estimated 60 percent of businesses — about 100,000 individual establishments — that closed their doors temporarily as a result of Covid-19 have shut down for good, and more may follow in the months to come.” [New York Times, 12/16/20]

Unrelenting Unemployment Pushing Millions Of Americans Into Poverty, Financial Hardship

  • New Data Released By Researchers At The University of Chicago And The University Of Notre Dame Shows That Nearly 8 Million Americans Have Fallen Into Poverty Since June. “The U.S. poverty rate has surged over the past five months, with 7.8 million Americans falling into poverty, the latest indication of how deeply many are struggling after government aid dwindled. The poverty rate jumped to 11.7 percent in November, up 2.4 percentage points since June, according to new data released Wednesday by researchers at the University of Chicago and the University of Notre Dame.” [Washington Post, 12/16/20]
  • The US In 2020 Saw The Biggest Jump In Poverty In Sixty Years. “It is the biggest jump in a single year since the government began tracking poverty 60 years ago. It is nearly double the next-largest rise, which occurred in 1979-1980 during the oil crisis, according to James X. Sullivan, a professor at Notre Dame, and Bruce D. Meyer, a professor at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy.” [Washington Post, 12/16/20]
  • The Rise In Poverty In The US Is Attributed To Millions Of Americans Being Unable To Find Work And The Decline Of Available Government Aid Since The Summer. “The economists say the sharp rise in poverty is occurring for two reasons: Millions of people cannot find jobs, and government aid for the unemployed has declined sharply since the summer. The average unemployment payment was more than $900 a week from late March through the end of July, but it fell to about $300 a week in August, making it harder for the unemployed to pay their bills. ‘We’ve seen a continual rise in poverty every month since June,’ said Sullivan.” [Washington Post, 12/16/20]
  • One In Three US Adults Reports Having Difficulty Covering Basic Expenses Like Food, Rent Or Car Payments. “Today, amid the pandemic, a third of U.S. adults say they are having difficulty covering everyday costs such as food, rent or car payments. While people with the lowest incomes face the biggest challenges, even some households making above $200,000 are straining to pay basic expenses.” [NPR, 12/16/20]
  • In Mid-November, Nearly 26 Million Adults — 12 Percent Of All Adults In The US — Reported That Their Household Sometimes Or Often Didn’t Have Enough Food To Eat. “Data from several sources show a dramatic increase in the number of households struggling to put enough food on the table. Nearly 26 million adults — 12 percent of all adults in the country — reported that their household sometimes or often didn’t have enough to eat in the last seven days, according to Household Pulse Survey data collected November 11–23. This was far above the pre-pandemic rate: a recent survey released by the Agriculture Department found that 3.4 percent of adults reported that their household had ‘not enough to eat’ at some point over the full 12 months of 2019.” [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 12/10/20]

End Of Federal Aid, Funding Threaten Millions As Congress Struggles To Pass Relief

  • 12 Million Americans Are Facing An Unemployment Cliff On December 26. “Legislators reacted swiftly and decisively in March when they passed a number of federal unemployment programs as part of the CARES Act to prop up existing state unemployment insurance programs. While the pandemic and the recession it drove continues, these federal programs are set to expire this month. That leaves 12 million workers facing an unemployment cliff on Dec. 26, according to a recent report by progressive public policy firm The Century Foundation. Some people might still be able to get help from state unemployment programs, but the end of extra federal help will mean the end of benefits for millions, says Andrew Stettner, an unemployment researcher who co-authored The Century Foundation report.” [Time, 12/15/20]
  • Food Banks Across The United States Are About To Lose 50 Percent Of The Food They Receive From The Agriculture Department, Despite A 60 Percent Increase In Demand, As Federal Funding Runs Out. “Only weeks before the holidays, a $4.5 billion food program that has kept millions of Americans fed through the pandemic is running out of money. The Farmers to Families Food Box program, a staple of food lines across America, was launched by the Trump administration in May to support struggling farmers and feed jobless Americans battered by the pandemic. It was supposed to provide food support through the end of the year. But because of soaring demand and a shortage of federal money, it is ending a month early in many regions of the country, leaving tens of thousands of families without a critical supply of food. Anti-hunger experts warned that several other federal food programs are also set to expire, causing food banks across the country to lose about 50 percent of the food they receive from the Agriculture Department, even as food banks report an average 60 percent increase in need.” [Washington Post, 12/8/20]
  • The End Of The Federal Eviction Ban At The End Of December Will Cause Millions To Lose Their Homes, And Disproportionately Impact Black And Latino Renters. “Black and Latino people are twice as likely to rent as white people, so a wave of evictions would hit them hardest, adding to the unequal toll of a pandemic that is already ravaging the health and finances of minority communities. ‘The majority of the up to 17 million households at risk of losing their homes this winter are comprised of people of color,’ said Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition.” [Politico, 12/15/20]
    • Only 29 Percent Of Black Renters And 31 Percent Of Latino Renters Report “High Confidence” That They Will Be Able To Make Their Rent This Month. “Just 29 percent of Black renters and 31 percent of Latino renters reported having “high confidence” they would be able to make their rent this month, according to the most recent Census survey, compared with half of white renters. Forty percent of Black renters and 35 percent of Latino renters expressed no or slight confidence in their ability to make rent, compared with 21 percent of white renters.” [Politico, 12/15/20]