I really wish that I did not have to report on this.
According to the Associate Press, thirty million Americans are now unemployed.
More than 3.8 million laid-off workers applied for unemployment benefits last week as the U.S. economy slid further into a crisis that is becoming the most devastating since the 1930s.
Roughly 30.3 million people have now filed for jobless aid in the six weeks since the coronavirus outbreak began forcing millions of employers to close their doors and slash their workforces. That is more people than live in the New York and Chicago metropolitan areas combined, and it’s by far the worst string of layoffs on record. It adds up to more than one in six American workers.
With more employers cutting payrolls to save money, economists have forecast that the unemployment rate for April could go as high as 20%. That would be the highest rate since it reached 25% during the Great Depression. (source)
I will say it again, I wish these numbers were not true.
The rising poverty is America is a huge issue. It is something that I cannot emphasize enough to people because it is going to get a lot, lot, lot worse. Yes, I said it three times because it is worthy of saying it that much.
Let me give you a rundown of fundamentals to consider. You can find the references to a lot of this in the Shoebat archives.
Right now, 44% of the population earns less than $20K per year. Most people have to work two jobs to survive, which means mom and dad working, or people living together to pay for a single apartment. There is no state anywhere where a minimum wage or even 25% over minimum can pay for an apartment without causing sever financial detriment, and in some cases cannot be paid for at all.
It has been found that one quarter of the population uses credit cards to pay for fixed expenses, as it without credit they cannot pay. This is another extremely bad sign because fixed costs cannot be eliminated.
It is estimated that 57% of all wealth is concentrated in the Boomers and 16% with Generation X. 23% is concentrated among foreign or corporate interests. Only 3% is held by Millennials, and Generation Z has less than 1% so far estimates indicate.
A lot of old people or companies, all who are in massive debt, own everything, while the next generation owns nothing and has no hope of earning a lot more to compensate. The monies from the elderly and companies will go to pay debts. The young have lots of debts but no way to pay them off.
America is becoming like Russia- a superminority of super wealthy people, and the rest who are poor and miserable.
I have watched this happen for years. I saw it develop in real time. I know very well about this. I wish I did not have to talk about this but unfortunately I must because these are the facts.
I have said this before and I will say it again- if you have not already, work as hard as you can right now while you still are able to, pay down as many bills as possible, and stock up on food, and if one can, learn to plant a garden.
Time is running out. Things are going to get really bad. A lot of people will be forced into poverty, as in forced onto the streets.
I have seen street life up close. It is not pretty.
It is no accident that people are turning to “camming” and prostitution right now. This is not even a moral issue per se in itself (I am not saying that prostitution is a moral thing or am attempting to defend it), but rather a historical paradigm as a measurement of economic troubles that can be seen across history and cultures as when things become very difficult, many poor women start selling themselves for money to pay for food and rent.
If you have a house, you are blessed.
If you have a job, you are blessed.
If you are financially somewhat ok you are very blessed.
Count your blessings. You will need them as things get harder.