Dear John,
In case you missed it...this week the Voices for Human Needs blog reports on how bad things could get for state and local public-sector workers unless Congress intervenes. And we document the impact COVID-19 has had on Missouri families. Finally, we unveil this week's COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship, a by-the-numbers glance at how the pandemic is affecting people with low incomes and other vulnerable populations. Please share!
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This week on the blog...
For state and local workers, a winter of discontent -- and beyond -- is approaching
Dec. 10
When the reality of a coronavirus pandemic struck home last March, many state and local governments were quick to take action, slashing budgets and planning for painful layoffs and furloughs. The damage was mitigated, in part, by two factors: healthy, pre-pandemic economies, and the CARES Act, which provided $150 billion in state and local aid. Still, 1.3 million public-sector jobs were lost during an eight-month period. Those jobs, for the most part, have not come back. And now, heading into the new year and beyond, state budget experts say things are about to get worse. READ MORE »
Census survey reveals COVID-19's devastating impact on Missouri
Dec. 9
Hundreds of thousands of Missourians are struggling to get by during our coronavirus public health emergency, including children, according to the recently released U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey. While 40.8 percent of Missouri households report losing income since March, families with children under 18 have been especially impacted, with 51.4 percent reporting income loss. COVID-19 has hit Missouri hard, but Black Missourians and other people of color have been hit especially hard. READ MORE »
CHN's latest COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship
Dec. 11
Disaster Relief or Disaster edition. We were starting to feel encouraged. A bipartisan group of Senators came up with a COVID package that is essentially short-term disaster relief. More will be needed. But the disaster we’re in keeps worsening, and you wouldn’t think senators would be willing to go home for the holidays with 12 million workers losing unemployment aid on December 26 and eviction moratorium and paid leave expiring just in time for New Year’s. But Mitch McConnell continues to preside over a caucus that seems prepared to do the unthinkable. READ MORE »
Coalition on Human Needs
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