On this edition of Your Call, we're discussing how the loss of additional unemployment benefits is impacting people who are struggling. Two months ago, House Democrats passed a bill to extend the extra $600 a week in federal benefits. Republicans want to reduce benefits to $200 a week.
Twenty-six million people can’t afford enough to eat, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Twenty-eight million people risk eviction, according to Princeton's Eviction Lab. The US poverty rate could rise to 11.9 percent over the next five months without expanded unemployment, a second round of stimulus checks and increased SNAP benefits, according to the Urban Institute.
Guests:
Teri Olle, California campaign director for the Economic Security Project
Melissa Cannon, senior advocate at California Food Policy Advocates
Sheila Ritter, a security guard and mom living in Denver, Colorado who lost her job in March and is struggling to make ends meet
Web Resources:
USA Today, Jessica Menton: 'Insulin or groceries': How reduced unemployment affects struggling Americans from California to Mississippi
SF Examiner, Carly Graf: Pandemic exacerbates food insecurity for San Franciscans in need
Bloomberg CityLab, Alex Wittenberg: How U.S. Poverty Could Spike in the Last Half of the Year
Center on Budget and Policy: More Relief Needed to Alleviate Hardship