Public Comment

As you probably realize, the American economy is rapidly going downhill. But it would be a serious mistake to blame this new and ominous development on the coronavirus. Undoubtedly the attempt to cope with the disease that the virus has precipitated has resulted in a loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs. This is certainly a substantial loss. 

However, unrelated to the virus, we are experiencing the decline in millions of jobs in many industries According to the San Francisco Chronicle, for example, 450,000 jobs in March were lost in restaurants, hotels, and casinos. Doctor’s offices sliced 12,000 jobs. Law firms cut 1,700 positions. These cuts cannot be blamed just on the virus. The blame for the job losses is related to the problems of the American economy and how it has been managed. The result has been the failure to provide working people with sufficient purchasing power.  

In the past three weeks about 17 million workers have applied for unemployment insurance. It is expected that the unemployment rate this month will reach close to 15 percent, which will be the highest since the 1930s depression. In fact, the president of one of the federal reserve banks is worried that the unemployment rate could reach in several months 30 percent! 

Moreover, a tremendous number of full-time jobs are being converted into part-time work. Statistically speaking, this seems like good news because more jobs are being created. That is, what was counted as one job is now officially recorded as two jobs. But actually the reality is very grim. The wages of these formerly full-time jobs have been cut at least in half. And the number of job seekers who can now only find part-time positions has jumped in March by one-third to almost 6 million jobs.  

What then can be done to help working people during this crisis? Clearly, the commitment and active participation of the government is necessary. Congress did recently approve what is called the 2 trillion dollar stimulus. But it is really not very stimulating. Five hundred million dollars of that money is a gift to big business. Although some money has been allocated to small business, the amount is only a drop in the bucket. Also, although workers are entitled to an additional $600 a week in unemployment insurance, this benefit expires in four months, which will be long before the recession expires. 

Unfortunately, the United States (US) is short on programs that provide a sufficient safety net for workers who lose there jobs. The problem is that American workers depend on employers to provide progressive programs. But in the European Union (EU) countries, this task belongs to government. 

In Britain, for example, unemployed workers thanks to government policy are receiving 80 percent of their pay (up to $3,125 a month). And they are guaranteed to get their jobs back. Many countries, like Germany, send the workers home while the state replaced most of the earnings. Particularly important is that the EU countries are not laying off workers at the same high rate that the United States is. 

Also, US workers, unlike working people in EU countries, lose their employer covered health benefits when they lose their jobs. To continue their coverage, they can join a plan called COBRA. But it is very expensive. The cost could be as high as $20,500 per year! Other plans are troubling because they involve huge deductibles before the insured is actually covered. 

Clearly, losing one’s job in this country is an especially tragic event. But so far it has not deeply troubled the American government.