Since We Work From Home as Writers,
my wife and I have not been seriously affected by the economic turmoil created by COVID-19. Today, as I made our mortgage and car payments online from my online banking account portal, I was thinking about the impact that cutting off that $600/week unemployment benefit will have on people who are in a different position than my wife and I are in.
If $2400/month were gone from our monthly income, I would not have been able to make those two payments after a very short time. We have some savings, but they would be quickly depleted without that $2400. We are not on unemployment, so we do not rely on those weekly deposits in our account. Many, many people, however, are in that situation.
I tried to put myself in their shoes, as best I could, and a feeling of panic rose in my mind. What would I do? Where would I live? How would I get around, if my home and vehicle were taken from me for being unable to make those payments?
Panic. That's what a lot of people are experiencing right now as Congress stalls on extending those benefits. People whose jobs are gone due to the pandemic have no way to replace those jobs right now. There are no such jobs for many people. The types of businesses they work in are closed and cannot reopen fully due to the virus.
Panic. Desperation. Fear. Congress feels none of those emotions.
Congress should try to put themselves in the shoes of the people whose very lives depend on what Congress does. We should expect our House Representatives and Senators to be able to comprehend the danger they are putting people in. I expect that from them. I demand it from them.
We all should.
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