As the world shifts and things change moment by moment, I can’t help but wonder what will change as a result of this covid-19 quarantine. I am not an economics major, but I can’t help but ponder how we’ll be feeling the effects of this shutdown when things resume. We know that many people are already living paycheck to paycheck. As of February, 2020, the Washington Examiner cited that roughly 49% of Americans were living paycheck to paycheck with 53% not having enough to cover their normal expenses for at least 3 months. An article from August, 2019,based on the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the lowest paying jobs in America are some of the following:
- food preparation and service workers including waitstaff, short order cooks, dishwashers, counter attendants, & hosts and hostesses, table bussers, bartenders, cooks, other food processing workers,
- entertainment workers including amusement and recreation attendants, gaming dealers, gaming and sportsbook writers and runners, cashiers, movie theater personnel, recreation workers
- hospitality workers including laundry and dry-cleaning workers, hotel/motel/resort desk clerks, maids/housekeepers, coatroom/bathroom/dressing room attendants, bellhops, taxi drivers and chauffers,
- human services workers including childcare workers, personal care aids/CNA’s, home health aides, personal care and service workers, physical therapist aides
- beauty industry workers including manicurists and pedicurists, salon shampooers
- retail workers including cashiers, salespersons
As I look at this bulleted list it strikes me that those who are already struggling to get by will unfortunately be even worse off as a result of these events. I haven’t yet taken the time to identify the total # of people that this list includes, what percentage of the population is made up of these individuals, how many of these individuals work in these positions as their primary means of income, etc. I keep seeing posts of medical workers that read something to the effect of “We’re all in this together” and I think to myself, “Are we really?” It’s a nice thought, but it doesn’t feel true when I review this list. It doesn’t feel true when I see the healthcare workers on the front lines with depleted resources and those not on the front lines hoarding masks, gloves, sanitizer etc. and those same gloves and masks strewn all over the ground in store parking lots. It doesn’t feel true when I see the sudden disbursement of large chunks of capital suddenly trickling down from the top. We are not “in this together.”
Restaurants have been forced to close and operate as a take-out only business. Even still, I’m sure many that are still operating as such are probably taking a hit since many people are hypersensitive about germs these days. At any rate, it is obvious that the restaurant industry and others in various industries are really being hit hard by these events. Sure, there is unemployment, which the US government has attempted to curb with the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) which allows up to 39 weeks as opposed to the previously state limitations and an additional payment of up to $600/week on top of the amount designated by individual state legislation. This added amount has not yet kicked in yet as of this writing. Everyone is at the mercy of the Department of Labor for implementation of the new provisions. It’s likely that the implementation of this won’t be seen until mid/late April, but fortunately is retroactive.
Isn’t it interesting how money seems to magically appear when shit hits the fan, yet poverty still exists in this world? Isn’t it interesting how when crisis erupts, suddenly $1 billion dollars gets thrown out in the form of grants toward unemployment. $500M is suddenly available toward WIC recipients. $400M is there for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). On 3/6/20, President Trump signed an $8.3B spending bill, which is apparently only phase 1 of the stimulus efforts to fund efforts to fight this pandemic. Then phase 2 enacted on 3/18 costing $100B… and with phase 3 signed on 3/25, another $2T along with the Federal Reserve liquifying $4T. There are talks of phase 4 where more money will be making an appearance to keep things afloat but according to MarketWatch isn’t likely to pass before late May. I mean, I appreciate it, but it also makes me wonder if it’s that easy to come up with money, then why does anyone go without in non-crisis times? Why is anyone struggling to get by? Suddenly there is all this money to throw at problems. I can’t be the only one who finds this infuriating at some level.
If it isn’t clear now that money isn’t finite, then I don’t know what to say. Money has always existed because it’s a construct… a concept that isn’t real, but is used as a form of control, order, and domination. It’s a tool that we use to claim dominion over resources that were meant to benefit everyone… not just some. As humans our egos want to “own” everything. We walk around like the seagulls in Finding Nemo yelling “Mine, mine, mine!” waving our precious money around as we claim this, that, and the other thing for ourselves. Heaven forbid anyone try to take what we consider “mine,” all hell breaks loose. Wars start in the name of “my” country. I sell you out in the name of “my” success. All the while, everything was already ours to begin with! Not yours, not mine, but OURS to share, to love, to nurture, to coexist with.
Yet, in the world we live in money seems to be the main method of problem solving. Here we are trying to combat the conundrum of a deadly pandemic with money. I honestly feel that God and all of nature excluding human beings may be laughing at our insanity right now. Again, I can’t be the only one who finds a bit of humor in this whole thing. It reminds me of the nations in the Bible that prayed to their wooden and golden idols to save them while God, infuriated and saddened, pleaded for them to turn to Him. In this world, money is the idol and many are caught up in the worship of it. So many are looking toward another human or group of humans to save the day and have sadly forgotten where they came from and what they belong to. You are part of nature. Look around, death doesn’t discriminate. It never has and never will. Everything in this world dies at some point, it is just what nature does. You aren’t above it no matter how high your bills are stacked.
In light of this, at a time of crisis we are being told to “socially distance.” People are suffering and dying alone in hospital rooms as a result of hospitals restricting visitors to prevent the spread. The world is growing darker as a result. I believe the only thing that heals – love for one another; lifting each other’s spirits, guiding others to see their innate divinity, and the warmth of physical touch – is being cut out of the equation. I know stress is the ultimate killer and the world right now is completely on edge, which will only increase the amount of illness and inevitably death that we see. There is a reason the ancients who wrote the Bible continued to state in different ways, “Do NOT fear.” They knew the dire results.
I’m listening to the wisdom of the ancients and leaning into creating more joy during this time in hopes of boosting my immune system. I’m embracing the added time with my daughter, enjoying the interesting conversations with my fiancé, dedicating more time to writing and reading, and focusing my mind on all of the good that still is. If only, instead of leaning on money to solve this, we could take a unified pause as a collective whole and tap into awareness, gratitude, happiness, joy, and love in this time of distress I’m convinced that the results would be nothing short of miraculous.