By Robert Reich
Donald Trump said that June’s jobs report, which showed an uptick, proves the
economy is “roaring back.”
Donald Trump said that June’s jobs report, which showed an uptick, proves the
economy is “roaring back.”
Rubbish. The Labor Department
gathered the data during the week of June 12, when America was reporting 25,000
new cases of Covid-19 per day. By the time the report was issued, that figure
was 55,000.
The economy isn’t roaring back. Just
over half of working-age Americans have jobs now, the lowest ratio in over 70 years. What’s roaring back is
Covid-19.
Until it’s tamed, the economy
doesn’t stand a chance.
The surge in cases isn’t because
America is doing more tests for the virus, as Trump contends. Cases are rising
even where testing is declining. Deaths have resumed their gruesome ascent.
The surge is occurring because
America reopened before Covid-19 was contained.
Trump was so intent on having a good economy by Election Day that he resisted doing what was necessary to contain the virus. He left everything to governors and local officials, then warned that the “cure” of closing the economy was “worse than the disease.”
Trump even called on citizens to “liberate” their states from public health restrictions.
Yet he still has no national plan
for testing, contact tracing and isolating people with infections.
It would be one thing if every other
rich nation in the world botched it as badly as has America. But even Italy –
not always known for the effectiveness of its leaders or the pliability of its
citizens – has contained the virus and is reopening without a resurgence.
There was never a conflict between
containing Covid-19 and getting the economy back on track. The first was always
a prerequisite to the second. By doing nothing to contain the virus, Trump has
not only caused tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths but put the economy
into a stall.
The uptick in jobs in June was due almost entirely to the hasty reopening, which is now being reversed. Across America, a vast re-closing is underway, as haphazard as was the reopening.
In the biggest public health
emergency in US history, in which nearly 136,000 have already lost their lives,
still no one is in charge.
Brace yourself. Not only will the
virus take many more lives in the months ahead, but millions of Americans are
in danger of becoming destitute.
Extra unemployment benefits enacted by Congress in March are set to end July 31. About one in five people in renter households are at risk of eviction by September 30. Delinquency rates on mortgages have more than doubled since March.
Extra unemployment benefits enacted by Congress in March are set to end July 31. About one in five people in renter households are at risk of eviction by September 30. Delinquency rates on mortgages have more than doubled since March.
An estimated 25 million Americans have lost or will lose
employer-provided health insurance. America’s fragile childcare system is in danger of collapse, with the result
that hundreds of thousands of working parents will not be able to return to
work even if jobs are available.
What is Trump and the GOP’s response
to this looming catastrophe? Nothing. Senate Republicans are trying to ram
through a $740 billion defense bill while ignoring legislation to provide
housing and food relief.
They are refusing to extend extra
unemployment benefits beyond July, saying the benefits are keeping Americans
from returning to work. In reality, it’s the lack of jobs.
Trump has done one thing, though.
He’s asked the Supreme Court to strike down the Affordable Care Act. If the
court agrees, it will end health insurance for 23 million more Americans and
give the richest 0.1% a tax cut of about $198,000 a year.
This is sheer lunacy. The priority
must be to get control over this pandemic and help Americans survive it,
physically and financially. Anything less is morally indefensible.
Robert Reich's latest book is "THE SYSTEM: Who Rigged
It, How To Fix It," out March 24.
He is Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley and Senior Fellow at the Blum Center. He served as Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration, for which Time Magazine named him one of the 10 most effective cabinet secretaries of the twentieth century. He has written 17 other books, including the best sellers "Aftershock,""The Work of Nations," "Beyond Outrage," and "The Common Good." He is a founding editor of the American Prospect magazine, founder of Inequality Media, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and co-creator of the award-winning documentaries "Inequality For All," and "Saving Capitalism," both now streaming on Netflix.
He is Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley and Senior Fellow at the Blum Center. He served as Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration, for which Time Magazine named him one of the 10 most effective cabinet secretaries of the twentieth century. He has written 17 other books, including the best sellers "Aftershock,""The Work of Nations," "Beyond Outrage," and "The Common Good." He is a founding editor of the American Prospect magazine, founder of Inequality Media, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and co-creator of the award-winning documentaries "Inequality For All," and "Saving Capitalism," both now streaming on Netflix.