The Federal Reserve's annual report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. households has been released. It is no surprise that the report documents the inequality of economic experiences during the pandemic shutdown for the past year. See Jeanna Smialek, "Survey Finds Federal Aid Blunted Financial Fallout," New York Times, Tuesday, May 18, 2021, at B4.
The response of a handful of states, 16 so far, has been to agitate for cutting pandemic-related unemployment benefits. Those are federally funded benefits that the states will not pay a dime for. Of course, the state legislators that are against providing pandemic-related unemployment benefits come from a class which knows no-one who needs those benefits.
Food Pantry. (Desiree Rios / New York Times) The people who would be cut from pandemic-related unemployment benefits are of course the ones who need those benefits. They are unknown to the state legislators who do not need them. It is easier to be cruel when you do not even know the people who are affected by your behavior.
It bears repeating here that their cruelty is not our policy. THE 21% SOLUTION DOES NOT MAKE POLICY FOR US.
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