WASHINGTON – Morgan Childers applies for jobs every day in and around her hometown of Cullowhee, North Carolina, but the only jobs available have been those that would endanger her.
Childers, 30, has chronic health conditions and is immunocompromised. For that reason, she is desperate to find a job that doesn’t keep her in front of clients all day. She has administrative experience and is trying to find something in an office. But in her part of western North Carolina, those jobs are hard to come by right now.
“It is also very stressful because there is an opinion that people who are not taking jobs like Walmart or fast food companies are just lazy and want to get rid of the government. And that is not the case at all, ”he said. “I am desperate for a job. I’ve been applying for a job daily since March and still haven’t found one. I’m not optimistic. “
A saving grace was that shortly after losing his job at a local university, Congress passed the CARES Act, which provides $ 600 a week in federal unemployment insurance aid in addition to state benefits. With this support, Childers has been able to continue paying for essentials like rent and health insurance.
After this weekend, the unemployment benefit expires. Congress plans to pass another coronavirus aid bill, but it is moving at a snail’s pace. Republicans spent the whole week debating among themselves about a proposal. Bipartisan talks have not yet started. The Senate left Washington on Thursday and will not return until Monday, after benefits expire. At least, a temporary lapse in unemployment aid is almost certain.
This is happening just as millions of people are exposed to the threat of eviction. When the coronavirus pandemic first caused a rise in unemployment, state and local governments enacted moratoriums on evictions and the shutdown of public services. But now those have expired in about half of the country’s states. The Illinois eviction ban ends this weekend. In Florida, it expires on August 1. A steady stream of moratoriums is slated to continue throughout the month of August.
More than 30 million people are attracting unemployment and will be left with only state benefits, which tend to be less than half the federal amount.
Economists have been waiting for a wave of evictions since the pandemic hit, but even with moratoriums that have already expired, that has not happened, said Jenny Schuetz, urban economist and member of the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program. This appears to be largely due to the CARES Act, but also in part because the courts have been closed so that landlords cannot file eviction notices. The reopening of the courts and the expiration of aid from the CARES Act could lay the groundwork for an increase in evictions in August.
Schuetz said that even a lapse in support will be difficult to endure for many people who cannot find work.
“There are a lot of people who just hold on to their nails,” Schuetz said. “These are people who have essentially no financial cushion; they are struggling to pay the rent at best. For those homes, any interruption will make it difficult for them to pay.”
Schuetz said there simply isn’t enough data to know how large the potential eviction bubble is. She said that many landlords can wait because they don’t think they can find new tenants. Other tenants will be forced to become homeless or take jobs that put their health at risk.
“There is a feeling that there is a lot of anguish once the courts are up and running, but there really isn’t much hard data on this,” Schuetz said.
Republicans are widely opposed to extending the $ 600 a week unemployment benefit, arguing that it is too generous and creates a disincentive to return to work. They have been internally debating how to extend a smaller amount of aid. One proposal would be that combined state and federal aid can only add up to 70% of a person’s previous income. But due to outdated technology in some states, it is unclear whether such a complex system could be implemented; Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia previously told Congress that he could not.
Another option is to simply extend federal aid to a smaller number; Some Republican senators have raised the idea of reducing the amount to $ 200 per week.
Advocacy groups are trying to pressure vulnerable Republicans to spread the benefits. In North Carolina, a progressive PAC called Piedmont Rising has been running ads against Senator Thom Tillis, who is in the midst of a tough reelection fight, accusing him of making it difficult for people to afford essential medical care.
“We are days away from a crisis if these federal unemployment benefits are not renewed,” said Casey Wilkinson, executive director of Piedmont Rising. “There will be a very real human impact. People will not be able to pay for their purchases, their prescription drugs, their rent. “
Democrats support unemployment aid and control the House of Representatives. But as the provisions of the CARES Act begin to expire this weekend, bipartisan talks have not even started, and a second bill remains in limbo. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell laughed and said “no” when asked if the bill could be passed in Congress late next week. And there is not much time left to reach an agreement; Congress plans to leave Washington, DC, for a month-long break (its annual August recess) in the next two weeks.
Childers said she is still applying for work every day, but she is very competitive in a small city with limited opportunities. She has some savings, but said that without the extra unemployment aid, between rent and health costs, it won’t be long before she has to take whatever job she can get, despite her high-risk status.
“I think that is basically what I will be forced to do in the next three weeks,” he said. “I will be forced to get a job that puts my health at risk.”
