The following column is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
Even in the best of times, low-income Americans and racial minorities reap fewer rewards from a strong economy than higher earners — and certainly, than the uber-rich. Prosperity creates the illusion of security … unless you happen to live with poverty’s perpetual stress and chaos. Institutional racism hides behind the veneer of social stability, making it easy to deny or ignore.
Then comes an economy-busting national crisis like COVID-19, revealing massive inequality in all corners of life, including health-care, education, the food supply, housing and broadband access.
COVID’s soaring numbers confirm that:
— Black and brown people are far more likely to die from COVID-19 than white people.
— Black, brown and poor children are more likely to lose a parent to COVID-19, affecting their sense of security and ability to thrive.
— The poor are more likely to have lower-paying service jobs and cannot work from home, increasing their risk of exposure to the virus. It is a stinging irony that many of these workers are considered “essential” — like sanitation workers and those who stock the grocery shelves.
— Workers in lower-paying service positions are more likely to become unemployed — and be evicted from their homes .
— Children lacking access to computers and reliable internet service are more likely to fall behind in school than those who can stream classes at home. Students with learning and other disabilities will be particularly hard hit. Many of them will never make up the ground they lost.
— The homeless and destitute stand to lose many of the services on which they depend because agencies have lost volunteers and face virus-related sheltering restrictions.
— The incarcerated population, inordinately people of color, is at high risk due to the confined space. Corrections facilities have been called the “perfect incubators” for coronavirus.
Last spring, in a moment of epic tone-deafness, a billionaire celebrity called COVID-19 the “great equalizer.” Make no mistake: black, brown and poor people are paying the price for this pandemic. Through no fault of their own, and at much higher rates than other groups, they are losing their lives, their livelihoods and any semblance of security they may have had before COVID.
Our government failed them. In the meantime, the uber-rich get richer, thanks to the Trump administration’s corporation-friendly COVID support programs. I have no doubt that if COVID inordinately affected the 1%, the federal and state governments would have immediately activated necessary safety nets. Instead, our cruel government’s feckless response was a one-time, measly $1,200 check that was sent out eight months ago.
COVID has killed nearly 300,000 Americans. But that’s only part of the story. It’s important to understand who those 300,000 people are. They are not a representative cross-section of our population. Racial, social and economic status determine whether one receives quality care, substandard care or no care at all.
These factors make the difference between full recovery and death. We have a moral obligation to fix this.
