Pandemic Programs Worked, So Business Elites Killed Them Off
To prevent economic collapse amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the government unleashed the power it always had. New programs caused hunger, evictions, and child poverty to plummet. Why not just continue them? Because employers thrive on desperation.
By 2021, thanks to pandemic-era government policy, the percentage of US people and children living in poverty actually dropped to the lowest in recorded history. (Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images)
There is an enduring perception that the United States is an individualistic nation whose people oppose collective guarantees to the basic necessities of life. This perception is false.
Look at, for example, the overwhelming popularity of our Social Security program and the guarantees of free public education contained in every state constitution; the United States already has some well-established economic rights that are deeply woven into the fabric of our society. Public opinion polls in recent years show strong majorities in support of recognizing and enforcing housing and health care as human rights and calling for the government to do more to address food insecurity. Most Americans have long supported a government jobs guarantee.
So what is stopping us? Corporations and wealthy individuals who deploy their de facto unlimited ability to fund campaigns and lobby lawmakers to crush economic support programs.
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