Recovery Impossible: The Financial Impracticality of Recovery for the Average Family
As life returns to the post-2020 normal here in the U.S., one question sits firmly on my mind. How will people who lived paycheck to paycheck and struggled financially through the pandemic, going to regain their financial footing?
When 2020 threw us the mother of all curveballs, our lives stopped and did a full 360. People lost jobs or had to give up jobs in order to supervise virtual school, businesses closed, toilet paper was the new gold, the circulation of money, on which this country is based slowed and the most horrific, so many lives were lost. That was a year we would never soon forget.
THE IMPACT
During this time finances needed to cover all the basic necessities, such as, food, electricity, and housing, were non-existent for the average family, at which point the federal government stepped in giving relief to most. Moratoriums were set on utilities and rent, and food banks expanded their reach. Filling in the gaps, were other service providers who ensured that everyone had access to WIFI and, tech companies along with fellow Americans, stepped up and provided devices that were integral to the continued education of our children.
With all the assistance provided, many of us, not all of us, we're able to weather the ‘storm’ per se. However, there were some taxpayers who did not receive any financial relief despite not only paying their taxes but also, being a daily contributor to this consumer-driven economy. Taxpayers that, despite the rhetoric, do contribute and no matter your stance on immigration, they are people with families, for which, like everyone else, they are trying to provide. Although this is not the focus of this piece, I truly hope that financial relief for the undocumented community is provided sooner rather than later. Beyond that exclusion, pieces were put into place to get this country through the worst pandemic of modern times.
THE RECOVERY
Now we are faced with recovery. Financial, emotional, and social recovery, all of which will need to be tackled simultaneously, and none of which will be no small feat. The challenge financially will be of mammoth proportions, especially to that sector of the economy I mentioned earlier, those who live paycheck to paycheck and are trying to figure out how to make $1 plus $1 make $100. Let’s be honest savings are tapped, and people are either just returning to work or just starting a new job, so the money simply isn’t there yet.
The moratoriums protected from eviction and loss of utilities, unfortunately, for those that could not keep up the payments, the money accrued. Eventually, the moratoriums will end and the working class will be facing bills that are thousands in arrears, coupled with current charges, and all likely due around the same time. Let me just state that as a part of the financially average working class, it is an impossible venture to undertake. It is inevitable that in this scenario, families will either lose their homes or utilities or both.
Adversely, with those that received much-needed relief from the implementation of the moratoriums, there are those who absorbed the financial blow. A freeze on rent payments meant that landlords were not receiving rent, while still having to pay mortgages, taxes and provide for their own families. Utility companies who do have financial provisions for unforeseen circumstances, still have to consider the economic impact that the moratoriums inevitably produced, as the flow of money on which any company survives stopped. And these are more than just companies, they comprise of the workers, workers that makeup part of the working class. I dare say we find ourselves in a proverbial catch 22.
THE SOLUTION??
So, back to the initial question, how are we going to regain our financial footing? The way I see it, in a similar way that financial assistance was given to most taxpayers, landlords, and utility companies could be funded in this way, in exchange for canceling any accrued payments on behalf of their tenants and customers. Affording the average working-class the opportunity, to begin with, a clean slate. This financial reset presents those that saw no way of ever being able to completely financially recover, with the foresight to now hypothetically see the light at the end of the financial tunnel. Simultaneously, as it applies to landlords, they will receive a much-needed financial boost, allowing them to pass on the relief to their tenants, who now can focus on current rent payments, and landlords can avoid the unpleasant process of removing a family from their home. No one wants to see families displaced.
When it comes to internet providers and utilities, the companies have stepped up in a remarkable way, I personally can speak for my provider PSE&G in this respect. However, the fact still remains that no company can continue to function effectively, without the constant flow of money, making the need for accrued accounts to be paid. A relief payment made toward the balance owed by customers due to pandemic will inevitably have the same effect that payments to landlords will have. It affords the average working-class a financial reset, funds the company that needs to continue to provide an essential service, and begins the process of financial stability for the individuals and in turn the country.
I am not in any way qualified on paper, to highlight the specifics of how this would work or how much it would cost. This is my humble layman’s opinion. Financial recovery post-pandemic will be more of a marathon than a 100-yard dash, but if we consider a reset, maybe we can be off to a good start as a nation. This country is as strong as its people, and I think we have proved strong as a people. It is now time to stand financially strong as a country.
