Poverty Under COVID-19

Running head: POVERTY UNDER COVID-191
Poverty Under COVID-19
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POVERTY UNDER COVID-19

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Poverty Under COVID-19
The economic implications for COVID-19 are still incalculable. Given current pace of COVID-19 spread, as well as impact on economy, any assessment of Covid-19's economic impact, at micro and/or macro levels, is deemed premature. There are, however, growing evidence, in addition to news reports, of increasing poverty rates among different social segments. The question of poverty is, of course, as old as economics. The new realities of poverty under COVID-19 are, however, a novelty. Traditionally, poverty, economically speaking, occurs for a variety of structural, institutional and personal factors. The pandemics, including COVID-19, have, of course, a fair share of investigation as contributors to poverty. Then again, current scope of and severity in impact of COVID-19 on personal and national incomes is, according to many estimates, unprecedented. Moreover, stimulus packages, usually expedited during major economic crises, are provided during more “normal,” economic-induced factors. The current economic crisis caused by COVID-19 involves, meanwhile, much more beyond cyclical effects of economic crises. Indeed, current economic crisis under COVID-19 uncovers underlying economic social policies, mediated by political negotiations, informing current proposed stimulus package intended to prevent millions of Americans from falling into poverty. To put matters into perspective, a news article piece is examined to discuss poverty in a more practical context. This paper aims, accordingly, to examine “Column: Coronavirus relief briefly saved millions from poverty, but they’re slipping back down” (Hiltzik, 2020) in order to explore poverty as a U.S. social issue supported by recent findings on impact, actual and potential, of COVID-19 on poverty.
The CARES Act, enacted expediently in March 2020 to mitigate economic impact of
POVERTY UNDER COVID-19

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COVID-19, has enabled millions of Americans to receive urgent stimulus cash hand-outs (Hiltzik). Two studies, report Hiltzik, show impact of first stimulus package on millions of Americans, particularly most vulnerable gig workers and low-income households: 1.5% reduction in poverty or around 5 million Americans lifted out of poverty over January-June span. This outcome is a result of expedited relief checks of $1,200 per adult, $500 per child and increased unemployment befits of $600 per week. This decrease in poverty is expected, however, to reverse course and spike as current package expires and, given current elections, millions of Americans are expected to go under and may have to wait “ until late January at the earliest,” according to one optimistic estimate, for additional relief (Hiltzik). Failing to respond promptly to public needs under a global health crisis is, argues Hiltzik, indicative of what is to come.
The current political stalemate is, for one, a major barrier and, indeed, ...