In March, triggered by pandemic, stock markets and oil prices around the world plummeted. Over two weeks, the Dow Jones Index sank from 27, 091 to 19, 899 points. Volatility in assets traded on financial exchanges around the world quickly approached Great Recession levels. In reaction, companies made a mad dash for cash, and even markets once considered quite stable, like US Treasuries, took a major tumble.

The health emergency has contributed to a social crisis, not merely financial in character. That social crisis is one carried on the backs of workers, not Wall Street elites, who are being torn apart by unemployment, food and housing insecurity, and exposure to the virus. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in April, the unemployment rate in the US rose to 14.7 percent (a conservative estimate); over 22 million were laid off from their jobs in March and April. Increasing their earlier prediction by ten points, Goldman Sachs believes that rate will rise to at least 25 percent.

Though employers added nearly 2.5 million jobs back in May, as the $3 trillion stimulus from Congress began to hit the pockets of employers and workers, this is not a sign of a sharp reversal. Unemployment remains far above its 2007-08 peak, and it’s unclear how lasting the job benefits of such a short-term injection of fiscal stimulus will be. Further, state and local governments, desperate for cash, fired 595,000 public workers in May.