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Friday, March 27, 2020

Addiction Treatment Clinics Struggle to Keep Up with COVID-19
by Elizabeth Brico
Methadone patients have to report for medication daily, but the coronavirus pandemic is making that increasingly difficult.

Lawmakers Must Strengthen SNAP in Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic
by Areeba Haider
From our partner, the Center for American Progress: Lawmakers need to immediately expand SNAP to protect those who are most vulnerable.

Congress Must Extend Paid Leave Protections to All Workers in Next Coronavirus Response Bill
By Sarah Jane Glynn
From our partner, the Center for American Progress: Further legislation is necessary to protect all workers and expand access to paid leave.

Hierarchy of Humanity
Matt Cortland on the COVID-19 response, the science of social distancing, and how to ensure people with disabilities aren’t left behind. Tom Jawetz and Emily Galvin-Almanza on the steps leaders need to take to reach the nation’s 5,000 prisons, jails, and immigrant detention facilities.

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What We’re Reading

In honor of our managing editor Pat Garofalo, who is leaving his position at TalkPoverty, today's What We're Reading is entirely devoted to the corporate malfeasance you love to hate.

Tax assessment. The coronavirus stimulus package includes a tax break that will let real estate investors collect some $170 billion — and plenty of other companies that haven’t made a habit of paying taxes will be able to walk away with funding too. Plus, so-called gig economy companies are receiving the benefits of enhanced unemployment insurance programs without having to pay into them.

Viral load. Workers at companies from Amazon to UPS are speaking out about the dangerous conditions they face — including having no hand sanitizer or adequate facemasks — as they try to get goods to the people who ordered them amidst the pandemic. Medical workers believe it’s inevitable they will contract the virus due to a lack of safety equipment. Meanwhile, many employers, including wealthy ones, are turning to GoFundMe in order to solicit money for their employees, with all the inequities inherent in that platform.

Never break the (supply) chain. Coronavirus is revealing the extent to which moving pharmaceutical factories overseas was a big mistake. On the flipside, one Maine factory that provides the swabs used in coronavirus tests is firing on all cylinders — and wants to hire more workers, but can’t because of the Trump administration’s immigration restrictions.

Order In

A fleet of deliverypeople have become a lifeline in cities with shelter in place orders. The life of a deliveryman isn't easy right now, especially when you're Asian-American. And even in a family-owned restaurant, operating costs get too high to be sustainable; just days after these photos were taken, the Hong Kong Cafe closed “for at least the next two weeks.”

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