San José, CA – With the additional $600 in unemployment benefits gone along with federal eviction protection, President Trump announced that a deal to restore the benefits and protect renters and home buyers “is not going to happen.” With tens of millions of people getting government aid, tens of thousands of evictions underway, and record numbers of people short on food, Trump’s statement may seem so beyond uncaring as to be almost senseless.

But his opposition to a deal makes sense from the privileged point of view of a man born to wealth who grew up to be a billionaire. The stock market, one of Trump’s favorite measures of the economy, has gained back almost all of its losses from when the recession began and is near record high levels. Big businesses like Amazon are doing great while thousands of small businesses fold up shop. Housing prices are up, as are purchases, while millions don’t know if they can make the rent or pay their mortgages.

And, as always, there are political considerations. If Congress were to make a deal, it would overshadow Trump’s executive orders. While Trump’s orders might help out the economy by about $100 billion, this falls far short of the Republican Senate’s proposed trillion-dollar ($1000 billion) aid package, much less the House Democrats $3.5 trillion HEROES Act. But without a deal, something might look better than nothing. And Trump is dead set against any deal that would help the U.S. Postal Service, thinking that suppressing mail-in votes will help him in the November election.

But for many working people, the economic crisis is going from bad to worse. There are still more than 28 million people getting government aid through regular state unemployment insurance, the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance or PUA for gig workers and the self-employed, and the Federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation or FEUC for the long-term unemployed.

The latest report on new applications for state unemployment insurance in the week ending August 8 did fall to 963,000. This is the first time the number has been less than a million since March. But it also still much higher than the previous record high in 2009. As other short-term indicators of employment do not show any improvement in the last few weeks, it is likely that many people are not bothering to file, now that the addition $600 through the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation is gone. The number of people who have run out of the regular state unemployment insurance also continues to grow, as seen in the FEUC numbers that continue to rise.

Starting in May, the economy has recovered a bit less than half the jobs that it lost in March and April. But this recovery has mainly been among highest paid workers, who have regained almost all their lost jobs, while those making $20 an hour or less have seen their jobs numbers still down 16-20% as compared to before the pandemic.

African Americans and other oppressed nationalities were not only hit the hardest by job losses, but have seen fewer of their jobs come back. For Chicano, Latino and African American renters, more than 40% had little or no confidence that they could pay their rent in August. This was also seen in the housing bust leading up the 2008 financial crisis, where African American, Chicano and Latino, and Asian Americans were hit hardest by foreclosures and falling home prices.

Despite years of evidence to the contrary, Trump’s economic advisor Larry Kudlow continued to insist that “a rising tide does lift all boats.” But the reality is that Trump and his billionaire bros are riding out the economic tsunami on their yachts, while working people are seeing their livelihood, homes, and even meals being washed away.

#SanJoséCA #stockMarket #Trump #600UnemploymentBenefit

Grand Rapids, MI – Fifty union stagehands chanted, “$600 now!” while pushing music road cases thru downtown Grand Rapids. They began their push at the U.S. Federal Building to demand Senator Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans pass the $600 workers need.

Outdoor diners gawked, homeless workers shouted approval and cars honked in solidarity as the stagehands rolled past on their way to a lively rally under the Rosa Parks statue.

“We paid into unemployment our entire working lives. It is our money and we need the Republican politicians in the Senate to pass $600 now to pay our bills, pay for housing and pay for healthcare,” said Joshua Roskamp, the business agent for IATSE Local 26.

“30 million unemployed nationwide. If we all want to compete for jobs; the value of jobs is going to bottom out. It will be a race to the bottom felt all the way up and down the working class spectrum. If the working class isn’t going to stick together, we are going to drown in a sea of sharks,” Roskamp added.

Roskamp, who is the lead rigger at Van Andel Arena and often works at DeVos Performance Hall in Grand Rapids and Miller Auditorium in Kalamazoo continued, “We need some of the big names we work directly for to understand our dire situation. Many of us have risked life and sanity to bring you your favorite shows. Making us try and start new careers in an already flooded job market doesn’t seem practical for us, or for your favorite shows, when they return in spring 2021.”

One woman’s life, millions’ experience

Lindsey Katerberg, a West Michigan stagehand for ten years, gives a detailed explanation, “As a single mom I pay for a two-bedroom apartment and buy groceries for a teenager who eats everything within a few days; without the $600 FPUC I will have to apply for food stamps.

“There is too much uncertainty regarding the future. My student loans didn't qualify for relief under the CARES Act and my healthcare requires a quarterly payment that is soon due or I lose my benefits.

“Here in Michigan I am at the maximum $362 per week payment for unemployment which doesn’t come close to covering my rent, health insurance and student loans totaling $1,720 every month.

“The $600 FPUC has been a lifeline I cannot survive without. Now that it is expiring, I don't know how I am going to get by because our industry is shut down. I am just one of 140,000 union stagehands and there are over 5 million workers in live events and entertainment not working.

“My life revolves around working gigs. I love my job and find my work fulfilling. It's very difficult having everything canceled or postponed until further notice. It's horrible not knowing what lies ahead and having little faith left in our leadership to do the right thing when all they seem to care about is us returning to work when it's not possible, and it's not safe! I look to the rest of the world and can't help but feel I would be better off with new leaders in our country. It’s not just financial ruin for me. It's millions of workers. It's the whole damn country!”

#GrandRapidsMI #Protest #CARESACT #stagehands #600UnemploymentBenefit