[POWER ECONOMICS]
T
housands of Californians abruptly lost their jobs when the Bay Area counties enacted mandatory shelter-in-place orders last month requiring all the non-essential businesses to close. The governor also followed with an order encompassing the entire state. This puts the low-wage workers at risk, as the orders were swift and a devastating blow. Experts say that the damage from COVID-19 may linger long even after it dies off. Despite the precautions by the local, state and national government, some low-income workers, particularly from the bay area may get pushed down even further down the economic ladder. Furthermore, it’s a likely situation most low-income workers missing their rent payment and end up on the streets which only worsens the homelessness crisis in the state. It is likely that many jobs might never return after the virus dies and many small businesses closed by the virus may remain closed.
Fears of Gett Low-wage Ca
As Corona V
During the week ending March 14, California reported that there was a 34% rise in unemployment cases, with over 58,000 people filing claims, this is according to a report by the Department of Labor. It is worth noting that this data was collected before the mandatory shelter-in-place orders. The governor has also reported that so far, California has received over 80,000 applications. And even if the state, local and federal officials are jumping in to help ease the situation, the ma jority are the people falling through the gaps. Many of the low-wage income earners in the bay area are now looking for government assistance but ma jority so far are without luck. For small business owners, the situation is even worse. Apart from worrying about their 16
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THE POWER IS NOW MAGAZINE | APRIL 2020
