28 Time May 18, 2020
more have been furloughed or seen their
pay reduced. But college-educated work-
ers are more likely to have a cushion: they
experienced wage gains since 2000 that
passed those who make less. Only about
1 in 4 adults in lower-income households
say they have enough money to cover ex-
penses for three months in the case of an
emergency, according to an April survey
by Pew. For upper- income households,
the number is 3 in 4.
While the ups and downs of the Amer-
ican economy have long been most de-
structive to the poor and middle class,
this downturn is even more targeted: it
is singularly affecting those who can least
afford it. During the Great Recession,
while pain was widespread across indus-
tries, many service workers kept their jobs
as consumers decided a dinner out or a
haircut were small luxuries they could af-
ford. This time, the majority of people laid
off are working- class and disproportion-
ately women and people of color, who had
been living paycheck to paycheck, their
expenses rising while their wages stag-
nated. One lost job or missed rent pay-
ment threatens to tip them into an eco-
nomic abyss.
Much of the country teeters behind
them. The number of new COVID-19 cases
shows no sign of receding, and consum-
ers and businesses remain nervous about
returning to the way things were. In the
world of finance and business, nothing is
less welcome than uncertainty. As the cri-
sis lengthens and consumers continue to
delay purchases, more businesses will fail,
creating more unemployment and further
diminishing consumer demand.
The safety net—already a dubious
patchwork—grows more tattered. In nor-
mal times, not quite a third of workers who
have lost jobs receive jobless benefits. In
April and May, thousands waited weeks
to get through to unemployment offices,
sometimes only to be told they weren’t eli-
gible. Then there is the added expense of
health care. About 12.7 million Americans
have likely lost employer- provided health
insurance since the pandemic began, ac-
cording to the Economic Policy Institute,
adding to the 27.5 million who didn’t have
it before this crisis.
Tanisha Robinson, 41, could not afford
health insurance after losing her job as a
nanny in Alpharetta, Ga., in mid-March.
As her savings dwindled, Robinson turned
COVID-19 | ECONOMY
