By Christin Trammell

            Over the course of the last month, millions of Americans have lost their main source of income due to being non-essential workers. There has been a complete shutdown on restaurants, gyms, social gatherings, and travel restrictions have been put in place to try and discontinue the spread of the Coronavirus, or COVID-19. Not only did many people in the customer service field lose their job, there has been lay-offs in manufacturing, warehouse, and transportation. Being a college student, I have seen almost every student in my classes lose their jobs, except a few who work in hospitals, grocery stores, or warehouses. 

            People, and families, who are considered the “working-class” are feeling the effects of COVID-19 the most. According to an article on the Washington Examiner, 49% of Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck, and 53% of adults do not have an emergency fund, according to statistics from the First National Bank of Omaha website. What exactly does this mean? This means half of American, if not more, is struggling to pay their bills, feed their family, have less access to healthcare due to the lack of PPE being mainly used to Coronavirus patients, and because of prices rising and wages staying the same, cannot afford to save and prepare for a world pandemic.

            Not only did many people lose their jobs, but young students are out of school, with predictions of the school year discontinuing until 2021. Parents now cannot work because they have to find childcare for their children, which could the risk exposure to COVID-19, being in a public space. Because PPE is in short supply, the CDCwebsite is suggesting that the daycares that are still open should screen children when they arrive to ensure that any child with a fever or other signs of illness is not allowed into the facility.

             Many families are facing temporary unemployment while factories and stores shut down for many weeks to clean their facilities and decide on future decisions. Families are also struggling to find specific product they need, and are affordable, because shelves are wiped of items, minutes after being stocked, because of the panic and fear COVID-19 has instilled. 

            Kendall Clark, an information technology recruiter, reported to the New York Times that she had not been able to file unemployment after attempting more than 1,200 times throughout the day. Because there are millions of people on the unemployment website, users are being kicked off continuously, and cannot log that they are still unemployed in order to receive a check to support their needs for the week. Clark says, “The plan is that we don’t pay some bills, but pay the mortgage so we don’t lose the house.” This is what a working-class individual has to do to keep her household afloat and support her two sons and husband. Many Economists foresee more than 20 million people without jobs by the end of April, according to the New York Times.

            Even though the IRS is sending out economic stimulus checks to aid people who lost their jobs, there are some restrictions to who’s getting those checks. According to CNET, a personal finance website, you will only receive this check if you are a single United States resident and make less than $99,000 a year, you file as the head of the household with an income of less than $146,500 a year, or file jointly and make less than $198,000. Married couples without children will receive a $2,400 payment as long as their income is below $150,000. This is where the tricky part is. If you have children and file them as dependents on your taxes, if they’re over the age of 16, you will not get any type of payment to support them. The college students that let their parents file with them for tax purposes will not get any money at all.

            In conclusion, the economy is going to take a direct hit from the lack of money being spent on leisure activities, food, and cancelled seasonal events, but that is not the important part. Many Americans will become sick, and even die, because of the lack of the United States Government to prepare for a world pandemic. The best we can do is stay inside, and hope the money we have in our bank accounts will last us until the madness ends and our lives return to “normal.”