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While Democrats and Republicans have taken the past several weeks to posture, negotiate, and dig their heels in on a variety of issues related to arevised stimulus package, the livelihood of many Americans and their families have been left to hang in the balance. This is especially true for many people of color and those who have been tasked with the arduous duty of navigatinglow wage jobs, discrimination in the workforce, and a host of other socioeconomic disparities that are rooted in systemic racism and classism. Although the White House, Senate Republicans, and House Democrats haveagreedto another round of $1,200 stimulus checks for qualifying Americans, they have not been able to reach a meeting of the minds about unemployment benefits, among other things. Some are now concerned that this may result in a failed negotiation, as congress is scheduled to begin their vacation today through September 8.
Earlier this week Republican White House Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows said, Ive become extremely doubtful that well be able to make a deal if it goes well beyond Friday." As of today, an executive order has been signed by the White House to temporarily extend unemployment emergency aid by reducing the benefit amount to $400 per week 25% of which states are being asked to pay as well as adding a payroll tax holiday for Americans earning less than $100,000 a year, and extending student loan relief and thelapsed eviction ban, so that congress can peacefully go into their recess. Some argue that this approach simply kicks the can down the road and adds further fuel to the fire of devastation that many Americans have experienced over the past five months due to the pandemic. The White Houseexecutive orderleaves several key areas lingering such as stimulus checks and funding for the CDC, schools, essential workers, the paycheck protection program, and treatment, testing and tracing until next month when congress reconvenes.
The Labor Department reports that over 31 million Americans were receiving unemployment benefits as of mid-July, which accounts for 1 in 5 workers being out of work since the start of the pandemic. As of late March, the average individual receivingunemploymentreceived around $930 a week due the extra $600 per week in emergency aid, whichexpiredlast week. Now, those funds have been cut by more than half to a meager $330 to $450 a week, which adds up to $1,320 to $1,800 monthly in cities where the average one-bedroom apartment cost a minimum of$1,300a month. Democrats have pushed to extend the extra $600 weekly aid through the end of the year and Republicans have proposed that aid be reduced to $200 per week. During talks, Republicans argued that the extra $600 aid incentivizes Americans to not look for employment while Democrats argued that there are not enough jobs available for everyone who is unemployed and that by providing sufficient financial support to unemployed individuals not only will families be kept out of poverty, but the country would also benefit in the long run by boosting the economy.
Last week, The Washington Post surveyed economists to get their thoughts and predictions about the countrys financial future. The findings overwhelmingly supported the extension of additional aid with some supporting $600 per week in emergency aid and others suggesting a slightly smaller amount such as The White Houses proposed $400. But what do the millions of unemployed Americans have to say about what appears to be a non-relenting partisan tug-of-war? They are begging for relief and rescue. This is a daunting reality for many who have not only found themselves unemployed, but also uninsured, and nearly homeless during apandemic issues of which people of color already disproportionately experience at higher rates compared to whites.
Although most Americans with low incomes are white, Blacks historically experience both lower incomes andshorter life expectancies. Although there are a multitude of factors that contribute to racial health disparities, research suggests that a central role is played by chronic financial hardship caused by a legacy of exploitation and segregation, as well as the direct toxic effects of discrimination on mental and physical health. These are issues that persist today and are enacted through a lack of access to education, credit, economic opportunity, and healthy environments. Consequently, its the intersection of both poverty and the effects of structural racism that create a perfect storm for the presence of significant and disproportionate mental and physical health disparities among Blacks and people of color overall.
Members of the Black and Latinx communities have historically experienced higher rates of unemployment.Last year, 6% of Blacks and 4% of Latinos were unemployed compared to 3% of whites. In less than 12 months, those numbers have exploded. As of early July, 16% of Blacks and 17% of Latinos were unemployed compared to 12% of whites. Blacks and Latinos combined also makeup almost50%of those living at or below poverty in the U.S. compared to 9% of whites. The net worth of white Americans is more than 15 times that of Blacks and 13 times that of Latinos. Most minority groups also experience higher rates of homelessness in the U.S., with Blacks making upmore than half of the homeless populationwhile only representing 13% of the general U.S. population.
Adding insult to injury, research has shown increased rates of behavioral risk such as smoking, obesity, substance abuse, and low levels of physical activity among individuals living at or below poverty. These are factors that are argued to be powerfully influenced by challenging home and community environments that many lower-income individuals live in. This is also in addition to certain businesses targeting financially vulnerable populations, which is evidenced by lower-income neighborhoods having ahigher densityof tobacco retailers andliquor stores, and the tobacco industryhistoricallytargetinglow-income people through various marketing and advertising strategies.
Many Blacks and Latinos also endure other structural barriers that are caused by poverty and living on a low income including limited access to fresh foods, living in communities that are not conducive to physical activity, and living in areas with a high presence of fast-food restaurants. More broadly, Blacks and Latinos living in impoverished communities often experience under-resourced school districts, environmental pollutants, and greater exposure to violence, trauma, and stress associated with lack of housing, heat, water, and electricity. For those living paycheck to paycheck, they might also feel the frequent threat of eviction and the current pandemic has only exacerbated these issues.
It has been well documented that exposure to racism, educational attainment, and employment can have severe physical and mental health implications on people of color. Similarly, its also no secret that poverty by itself can be a contributing factor to chronic stress, disease, and loweredlife expectancy. Both of these have led to an increased need to better understand the links between income, health, and race. The relationship between race, income, and health persists both within and across races. Experts argue that lower-income Blacks tend to live shorter lives than high-income Blacks, and affluent Blacks die earlier than affluent whites. Arecent studysuggests that race might be more important than family income particularly for men. Black young boys in wealthy households are more likely to become poor adults than affluent ones, while the opposite is true for white young boys.
That said, the impact of poverty across race is pervasive and can be thought of as both a cause and a consequence of poor health. Poverty increases the likelihood of experiencing poor health and, in turn, traps communities in poverty. Poor health can also impact an individuals ability to work, reduce economic opportunities, inhibit educational attainment, and force those who work in riskier professions` to work at any cost. This is especially true during the current pandemic. Blacks and Latinos make up a large number ofessential workerswho have been forced to work in positions that place them at greater risk of contracting the coronavirus to pay their bills, but have limited access to quality medical care if they become ill. This creates what has been referred to as a negative feedback loop or what epidemiologist Jacob Bor and Sandro Galea call thetwenty-first-century health-poverty trap.
Although the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was successful in insuring millions of uninsured Americans, more thantwenty-seven millionAmericans remain uninsuredthe majority of whom are low-income individuals. Those without health insurance areless likelyto have a regular source of medical care and more likely to forgo care because of cost concerns; and consequently, experience higher rates of health issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure, breast cancer, and maternal death. As the rate of infectious disease increases so does income inequality.
In 1978, 33% of the total income in the U.S. went to the top 10% of earners, but in 2014 that percentage grew to 50%. Over the past 30 years, the share of income earned by the 1% of earners doubled growing from 8% to 19% and the top 0.1% now earns 10% of all income. While some are basking in their financial spoils, the income of most Americans has declined or remained somewhat stagnant. Life expectancy differences by income have also grown. A recentstudyfound that since 2011, life expectancy has increased by almost 3% years for the top 5% of top income earners in America, but there have been no increases in the bottom 5% and men in the top 1% of income distribution can now expect to live 15 years longer than those in the bottom 1%. Among women, the difference is about ten years, which is equivalent to the life expectancy difference between a lifetime smoker and a person who has never smoked a day in their life.
There are also significant negative mental health effects associated with poverty. Although whites tend to experience greater mental health disorders, people of color tend to experience more severe and longer-lasting symptoms associated with mental health challenges. Overall, poverty in adulthood has been linked to depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, psychological distress, and suicide. Individuals in families that earn less than $35,000 a year are four times more likely to report being nervous or feeling sad most of the time compared to individuals in families earning more than $100,000 a year. These disparitiesemerge early in lifeand can bepassedintergenerationally.
Extending unemployment benefits will not solve the extreme poverty that exists in the U.S. nor will a second round of stimulus checks. Poverty, racism, and the structures that exist which maintain and perpetuate both require a complete ideological transformation, that arguably, might not happen in our lifetime. However, decisions can be made now to begin to pave the way to such transformation for future generations to come. The pandemic has presented the country with a fork in the road moment that could either mark the start of a restructure of financial stability for underrepresented groups or reinforce measures that further maintain the profound income and health inequalities and disparities that exist in America.Although to some this might be a matter of politics and partisanship, to millions of Americans this a matter of their survival and life and death.
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