In the article, The government’s failure to provide economic relief is killing people, written by journalist Anna North, the topic of lacking government protections against economic and financial instability is covered. The article highlights that the lack of government protection is making the pandemic worse, especially for those in the lower class. With businesses closing, too many people have been evicted from their homes, making it difficult to purchase basic provisions and healthcare, risking many lives. Thus, many people are willing to work any job, even if it means exposing themselves to the virus, just to earn an income during these difficult times. When COVID-19 first hit, around 6 million people filed for unemployment in the last week of march, and food banks were filled to the brim with people who couldn’t afford food. The government did place a collection of government protections to help the citizens, but as time passed, those protections slowly disappeared, leaving many Americans to fend for themselves. Federal stimulus checks were issued, but only one time in April. Unemployment insurance expired late July, which caused many laid-off workers to fall further into poverty. There were many PPP loans as well to help small businesses stay afloat, but this program expired as well. Unfortunately, in September, the federal government stopped supporting these implementations through the end of the year. It’s not projected to improve any time soon, either. In fact, the article stresses that the situation might worsen due to programs like the nationwide moratorium on evictions that are set to expire by the end of this year.
This article is of value to the financial community because it acts as an alarm to make people realize the devastating effects of COVID 19 and the difficulties many people face due to the lack of government protection from issues dealing with financial instability like unemployment. I think I made many personal connections with this article and it really resonated with me because I work at a small business, and I know that my coworkers need to work to earn money, even if they don’t feel safe because of the rapid spread of the virus. While reading this, I realized how lucky I was for the fact that both of my parents are still employed. I also learned more about how government protections would overall benefit the country in terms of economy and controlling the virus, given the less-than-ideal situation. Despite this, I also learned that there was a plan introduced, consisting of a $908 billion stimulus plan, which might be something to focus on next. Nonetheless, I hope there will be more bills or plans proposed in order to help those impacted harshly by the virus.
The article was written very well, in my opinion, with multiple sources, interviews by experts and small business owners, and the inclusion of research studies. Due to these things, I believe the article has little bias, though it is more left-leaning because it was published under Vox. The target audience for this article are people who are affected by the virus financially or those who seek more information on how the US government is handling such events. Personally, I think many people should read this article because it is very important. It educates people on what the government is doing, and thanks to many numbers and statistics, can affect many readers by providing an accurate depiction of the extent of the impact of COVID-19 on America’s economy. I think it also can effect people by giving hope, in another way. Near the end of the article, the author mentions that many experts claim the US could improve this situation by providing federal support for small businesses/indoor services to shut down while staying financially stable, allowing people to have a source of income while helping prevent the spread of the virus.