Dear John,
In case you missed it... this week the Voices for Human Needs blog discusses the urgent need for emergency rental assistance to avert an eviction crisis next year. And we document the Trump Administration's horrendous loss-win record in the nation's federal courts. We also react to the new U.S. Census poverty data that shows gains in 2019 were wiped out by the pandemic and we elevate housing as a human right -- particularly for women of color. Finally, we unveil this week's COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship, a by-the-numbers glance at how the pandemic is affecting low-income and other vulnerable people. Please share!
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This week on the blog...
Low-income renters were on the edge in "good times" -- the pandemic will push millions over the edge if Congress does not act
Sept. 18
With rent swallowing up so much of income, even in “good times,” it is clear that Congress must act to protect people from eviction by providing assistance so tenants can pay their back rent. Even for those who go back to work at no reduction in income, if they have only one month’s back rent to pay, that plus the current rent will take every cent of their earnings. Many will owe much more than one month of back rent, and many are going back to work at reduced hours, if they do not join the ranks of long-term jobless. READ MORE
Checks and balances: The Trump Administration continues to rack up losses in the nation's courts
Sept. 17
Executive actions by the Trump Administration have resulted in 132 court decisions, handed down by U.S. District Courts, U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Of those 132 decisions, 111 have gone against the Trump Administration, while 21 have gone the President’s way – for a loss-win percentage of 84 percent to 16 percent. As bad as the Administration’s loss-win record has been lately, it might surprise you to learn that it actually has improved, compared with almost a year ago. READ MORE
CHN's Deborah Weinstein: Precarious gains of 2019 swept away by pandemic
Sept. 15
The news about last year’s income and poverty progress is in a way heartbreaking. Workers have struggled to make gains, working hard to provide economic security for their families. What is heartbreaking is that hard-won gains have been snatched away by the pandemic and its economic toll. But Senate Majority Leader McConnell and his caucus seem prepared to abandon millions of their constituents – to leave Washington without agreeing to further COVID-19 relief. READ MORE
National Women's Law Center: Housing is a human right -- women's lives depend on it
Sept. 15
COVID-19 and the she-cession have exacerbated a housing crisis with disproportionate gender and racial impacts. New NWLC research shows that in mid-July, 41% of Black, non-Hispanic women and 45% of Latinas faced housing insecurity, more than two and a half times the housing insecurity white, non-Hispanic men face (15%). Those rates increased to 45% for Black, non-Hispanic women with children and 49% for Latinas with children. READ MORE
CHN's latest COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship
Sept. 18
The 200,000 deaths edition. Within days, the death toll from COVID-19 in the U.S. will surpass 200,000. At some point we have to ask Sen. Mitch McConnell and his obstinate band of Republican cohorts, how many lives is too many? And how long and how deeply must our nation suffer? Unemployed Americans already have lost the $600 weekly UI benefit that expired at the end of July. Now millions of Americans are seeing their state UI paychecks vanish as well, as 26-week time limits expire. A child care crisis is unfolding before our very eyes, as many people cannot go back to work without access to affordable child care. Overburdened state and local governments are cutting programs right and left, even though we need more investment, not less. And still: not a dime from the U.S. Senate. READ MORE »
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