I wanted this post to center on black voices, so all the authors are Black. However, if you’re gonna read two things by white people, I’d suggest reading The Making of Ferguson, a report by Richard Rothstein for The Economic Policy Institute, which is incredibly thorough as it sets up the historical and cultural forces that made Ferguson such a ripe epicenter for this current conflict. I also found Why It’s Impossible To Indict A Cop very educational.
Autostraddle
June 4, 2020
A new report from the Economic Policy Institute delves into the myriad ways racial and economic inequality have exacerbated the impact of the coronavirus crisis on black communities.
Millions of black workers have lost their jobs during the pandemic, putting them at a high degree of economic insecurity, in part because they’ve had lower incomes and less savings already.
Of those who’ve kept their jobs, many more are putting their health at risk — black workers are less likely to have jobs that allow them to work from home — a risk magnified by inequalities in the health care system and a higher prevalence of underlying health conditions.
Daily Kos
June 4, 2020
Data compiled by the Economic Policy Institute show that black workers are more likely to hold front-line jobs, including roles in public transit, child care and health care. And fewer than 1 in 5 black workers are able to work from home, putting them at greater risk for acquiring the virus.
AARP
June 4, 2020
Black Americans are more likely to work in low-paid jobs as “essential workers,” often without adequate protection. That is one of the factors contributing to the connection between racism and COVID-19, a state of affairs addressed by a series of stunning economic statistics released this week by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).
Who. What. Why
June 4, 2020
“That’s pretty alarming I have to say,” says Elise Gould, a senior economist at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. Her recent work on how Covid-19 has affected black workers is based on national data, which she says “misses so much of the differences we see across the United States.”
Quartz
June 4, 2020
Heidi Shierholz of the Economic Policy Institute noted in a blog post last week that more than one in five U.S. workers are currently either receiving unemployment benefits or waiting for approval. Shierholz said “policymakers need to do more” to provide people with financial relief as the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic continues.
To that end, Shierholz urged Congress to extend the $600 weekly boost in unemployment benefits provided under the CARES Act, which is set to expire on July 31.
“We also must provide more funding to state [unemployment insurance] agencies to hire staff to speed up processing and to make improvements to websites and other administrative infrastructure,” wrote Shierholz.
Common Dreams
June 4, 2020
STACEY VANEK SMITH, BYLINE: Valerie Wilson directs the Program on Race, Ethnicity and the Economy at the Economic Policy Institute. Valerie points out that black Americans are dying at 2 1/2 times the rate of white Americans. Part of the reason for that, she says, is because of jobs.
NPR
June 4, 2020
The housing conditions for black Americans also leave them more exposed to contracting coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Only 54.5% of African-American households live in single-family homes, according to a report from the Economic Policy Institute, compared with 74.5% of white households.
Realtor
June 4, 2020
Black workers are facing greater health and economic difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study done by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). Elise Gould, senior economist at EPI, joined Yahoo Finance to discuss how the coronavirus has disproportionately affected black communities and people of color.
“What we’re seeing is that there are underlying health and economic conditions that have magnified the problems for African American workers and their families in this country,” she said.
“Black workers are often, when they’re compared to white workers, are least able to weather the storm because they don’t have the same kind of safety net that some other workers have. They’ve suffered higher unemployment rates for a lot longer.”
Yahoo Finance
June 4, 2020