This recent pandemic has obviously affected many people around the world including the U.S. A major issue that has been brought up is the wage separation gap in terms of the coronavirus. With many businesses closing and schools unable to teach anymore apart from online courses, the middle and upper class appear to be the ones least affected with the sudden change to an online system. The article states that it appears that roughly 30% of the American population does not have reliable access to internet or computers that perform on the platforms needed for online schooling systems. This lockdown has been named "the white-collar quarantine" because it is the essential blue-collar workers that are picking up the need for work and still needed in the industries during this pandemic. The white-collar people in the U.S. appear to be less affected and more capable of adapting to the changes that have come in the recent months. Unlike the lower class citizens, upper and middle class citizens are able to even build bunkers and moving to places they feel fit, while lower class people are still working and unable to do what they feel they need in order to protect themselves and their loved ones.
What do you think may be a solution to this gap in our system? Is there a solution? Will this have a long-term impact on the people in this country?
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/27/business/economy/coronavirus-inequality.html
5 comments:
The problem with this divide is that businesses are closing down and that means that jobs that require physical labor in a business considered "non-essential", those workers lose their jobs because of this shutdown. And the group of people that will lose this type of job are those considered in the lower income bracket while the middle/upper class with high-skill jobs that can work at home, still have an income despite the quarantine. Since those low-income jobs are being shutdown, that income demographic are unemployed and are struggling to find work during this situation.
Another problem is that middle/upper class will have savings that they can access if there is a loss of income during this time. Lower-income workers do not have the luxury of having savings as a back-up when needed since most of their income will be used for the daily essentials (food, bills, taxes, etc). So these people have to not only face the (potential) loss of income but the question of how they can pay for their basic needs.
This is a major problem that has been highlighted during these times along with many other problems about the way we operate here in the US. The average American can't afford a situation like this and our system isn't set up to take care of those people. There is no reason it should be like this, these people need help.
Given that a huge portion of the U.S. population lives paycheck to paycheck, this is a humongous problem right now. Businesses both large and small are being shut down and it has caused chaos among us. Middle to low income classes are going to end up one in the same at this rate if there is no change soon and that is quite terrifying.
This will definitely have a long term impact on the people in the country, especially those who run small businesses and lower income people who rely on bi weekly paychecks. Also, lower income people are much less likely to save relative to those above them, which will hurt even more. I am concerned for the rate of unemployment in the next year as it will be extremely difficult for people to get back on their feet.
This is a difficult question to answer, because there is not an easy way to fix class divides which have been present in the U.S.for the majority if not all of its history. This virus has already increased unemployment substantially and will make it difficult for many people to become reemployed after the crisis has passed. There are programs in place to help out blue-collar families such as school buses passing out free meals to kids, however, the class difference in the U.S. is becoming very clear as the virus continues.
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