Even if they are still working part time. I am sure there are gaps, but we can close them if we took the time.
What you're talking about is a social safety net regardless of a pandemic, and I agree that we need a better one, but there was no way that would be part of this relief bill as long as we have Republicans in Washington.
The US has the most wealth of any country in the world, but we have a social safety net that is tiny compared to our peer countries. It's no wonder that most Western Democracies were able to do a lot more and do it more quickly than the US did for its citizens. It took this disaster to get any help for people at all. It's all part of a system in this country built on keeping workers terrified for their well being permanently. If there were a robust social safety net for the unemployed, they'd not fear losing their jobs as much, and thus they'd demand better pay and more benefits. The rich can't have that, it's this fear of financial ruin that drives the gravy train for the rich.
I work for a global company, we had mass permanent layoffs this Spring and Summer. Seeing how our workers in the US were treated vs our workers in the UK were treated could not be different (And our laid off US workers get more than most.)
In the US, workers were given 1 month notice that they were being laid off. So they could work those 4 weeks. They then were given 1 week pay for year of service and benefits continued for a couple months. In the UK, the company had to first tell the UK government they were going to lay people off, then there was a 6 month period before the layoffs actually happened. Then a severance and training options. Benefits not as big of a deal because they already have universal health care in the UK. So many more protections for workers there. And that's the UK, there are other countries with even more for the workers.
The US working class has no idea of what they're supposed to be entitled to. They also don't know that all the wealth in this country is produced by them, but they only share in a tiny slice of the pie. Getting laid off should not mean the end of your financial security, it should not be a total disaster for any family, in the US, those in power have chosen it to be one though.
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