We're now a matter of weeks away from the housing cliff that will see more than ten million Americans facing immediate eviction into the heart of winter and the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Millions of Americans who lost their jobs during the pandemic have fallen thousands of dollars behind on rent and utility bills, a warning sign that people are running out of money for basic needs.
Nearly 12 million renters will owe an average of $5,850 in back rent and utilities by January, Moody’s Analytics warns. Last month 9 million renters said they were behind on rent, according to a Census Bureau survey.
The numbers were especially high for families with children, with 21 percent falling behind on rent, and among families of color. About 29 percent of Black families and 17 percent of Hispanic renters were behind, the Census Bureau reported. A separate analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, looking at people who had jobs before the pandemic, found 1.3 million such households are now an average of $5,400 in debt on rent and utilities, after those people had lost jobs and their family’s income plunged.
Economists say these data points show the failure of the U.S. safety net during this crisis, which is inflicting economic pain that will hurt families for years.
With coronavirus cases at all-time highs, the economic recovery has stalled and job opportunities remain scarce. Only 245,000 jobs came back in November, the slowest pace since the recovery began. Restaurants and retailers cut jobs, and more small businesses are closing, data show.
The 20 million Americans receiving some kind of unemployment aid have seen their weekly checks dwindle since August, making it harder to pay bills. About 12 million unemployed are slated to have their benefits cut off entirely at the end of the year, because lawmakers have yet to agree on extending relief for the unemployed.
“The tidal wave is coming. It’s going to be really horrible for people,” said Charlie Harak, a senior attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. “The number of people who are now 90 days behind and the dollars they are behind are growing quite significantly.”
Understand that Republicans are 100% okay with this, because 30% of Black families and 20% of Latino families getting evicted means they can't vote, can't get federal aid, and frankly die in the winter of COVID hell. It's genocide, and politically it helps them.
And the only thing that matters is Republicans protecting corporations so that they can continue to exploit workers who are sick.
Congress wants an extra week of time to negotiate government funding legislation and a coronavirus relief bill, according to lawmakers and aides familiar with negotiations.
The House is eying a vote Wednesday on a one-week continuing resolution to prevent a government shutdown, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said Monday.
It would move the Dec. 11 government funding deadline to next Friday, one week before Christmas.
The deadline extension will allow for another week of talks to find bipartisan agreement on an "omnibus" spending bill to keep the government open into next year. It will also allow for another week of negotiations on another round of Covid-19 relief, that could include unemployment benefits.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he anticipates the Senate to also take up a one-week stopgap bill in the hope of completing a full-year government funding package by the end of next week.
Congressional leaders have said that if any Covid-19 aid agreement is reached, it will be attached to a government funding measure to speed up passage.
Party leaders are negotiating the coronavirus relief package based on a $908 billion plan unveiled last week by a bipartisan rank-and-file group. The main sticking point is the parameters of a liability shield for companies and organizations, a GOP demand.
The emerging plan includes unemployment benefits, relief for restaurants and other small businesses, and aid to state and local governments to pay teachers, police and other workers. It does not include direct payments to Americans, which some Democrats and Republicans are still pushing for.
No housing or utilities relief though. No stimulus checks. Maybe even a government shutdown.
Make no mistake, we're headed for absolute disaster, Trump and McConnell's final destructive stroke to impoverish and kill millions.
Instant humanitarian catastrophe.
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