just gonna come out and say that it should be considered criminal to force 400 million people into a nine month long period of isolation with no end in sight, no form of easily accessible mental health care, no adequate financial or tenant protections, and cap it off w/$600 each
Quarantine has had astronomically dire consequences on a wide variety of levels. The USD has fallen by 14% and is continuing to plummet, causing a hyper inflation in an already unstable economy. In May, the unemployment rate was nearly 15%βthe worst since the Great Depression.
Conservative estimates confirm our homeless population to be at over 500,000, but experts estimate that the number is vastly greater due to lax enforcement of eviction and foreclosure moratoriums across the country and place the number closer to a million.
A survey proved 31% of Americans have experienced anxiety or depression, 26% have experienced trauma/stress, 13% have begun or increased their substance abuse, and 11% have attempted or considered suicide since March. The actual numbers are expected to be much, much higher.
According to Yelp, by May there had been a 60% increase of permanent business closures & over 100,000 businesses have shut down. These are mainly independently owned restaurants, daycares, salons, tattoo parlors and small gyms. 1 in 5 businesses WILL close before quarantine ends.