BeatTheStreet Newsletter

COVID-19 and the World, so far by Eric Li

The Facts

As the world heads into the 14th week of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, the world continues to see a growing number of cases with no end in sight. As of the 29th of March, there have been upwards of 760,000 cases reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) with the United States, Italy, and Spain reporting the most cases. As a result, citizens are on edge as to what kind of repercussions this pandemic will have on the world’s economy. Unfortunately, the United States has already seen drastic hits to its economy. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 3.28 million Americans have filed for unemployment, a number which is only eclipsed by the number of claims filed during the 2008 financial crisis. In response, the United States government has taken drastic action to prevent another recession by passing a 2 trillion dollar stimulus bill meant to help Americans during this tough time. One big part of the bill was the amount of money that the government plans to give to individuals. The bill stated that single Americans who had an annual income of $75,000 or less would receive a check worth $1,200. Furthermore, couples with an annual income of $150,000 or less would receive checks worth $2,400. For every child 16 or younger, checks will include an additional $500. As annual income increases, however, the checks received will be for less money. Individuals with an annual income of $99,000 and married couples with an annual income of $198,000 with no children will not receive any payments. 

The Opinion

There is no doubt that the stimulus bill is of huge benefit to the American people. After all, providing some economic stability during this pandemic to Americans is crucial. However, the government failed to address two bigger issues: fear and testing. Addressing the issue of fear is of the utmost importance when fighting an invisible enemy. When people are advised to stay home to prevent the spread of the virus, most will. Especially with states, such as California, ordering citizens to shelter in place, people will go out less. As a result, their local businesses will fail. Instead of directly giving money, the government needs to address the bigger issue of how to properly fight the virus. The economy will be in worse condition if they do not.  At the same time, fear of COVID-19 also spurs racism. Humans are naturally inclined to put a face on the unknown. This, on occasion, leads to racism and hate. There are many instances in which the United States has seen an increase in racism as a result of a national health crisis. In the United States, Asians, and those of Asian descent, have seen such a drastic increase in racial discrimination that the City of New York created a hotline with the main purpose of reporting cases of Asian discrimination. However, spurring fear can only have negative results because the more stigmatized that a race feels, the smaller the chance that they are willing to seek crucial medical attention. Furthermore, the fear that is created during this pandemic will continue to negatively affect communities long after this pandemic. This will divide Americans along racial lines which causes people to focus on the racial differences instead of the bigger issue at hand: COVID-19. When combatting this pandemic, experts have expressed concern about how hospitals do not have enough resources to address such a pandemic. Thomas Friedman, a former C.D.C director, described the government’s late actions to address the nation’s shortage of medical supplies “far too late.”  Even today, it costs around $73,000 for uninsured Americans to get tested and, even then, it takes around 5 days for patients to be notified of their results. This poor system of testing has allowed for citizens to continue to unknowingly transmit the deadly virus. Furthermore, the fact that President Trump disbanded a National Security Council directorate that was, at the time, meant to prepare and combat another pandemic shows how ill-prepared the United States is when it comes to combating this virus. This pandemic will get worse before it gets any better. Now, the government needs to take drastic action on how they are going to combat fear within society and prepare for a battle for its citizens’ lives.