LETTER: Higher Covid death rates reveal plight of the poor in the U.S.

To Ozaukee Press:

It seems axiomatic that every financial crisis is followed by economic recovery that ensures the affluent and corporations are made whole, while the bottom half continue to struggle. Even though the coronavirus pandemic is a health crisis, that paradigm holds true as the poor and people of color are dying in higher numbers and will endure greater economic suffering in the future.

President Trump has floated recovery proposals that could have been gleaned from a supply side economist’s wish list, including taxing non-profits, cutting salaries for professors and declaring a payroll tax holiday through December. It would prove more beneficial if the administration, as part of its economic recovery plan, focused on structural changes to benefit those left behind for the last four decades.

They could start by guaranteeing universal health care. The White House should instruct the Justice Department to vigorously defend, not repeal, the Affordable Care Act and urge Congress to expand the ACA’s exchanges to include a Medicaid/Medicare option, and cap premiums and out of pocket costs at no more than 10% of the household income for everyone.

Trump could push Congress to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour, thereby ensuring a full time worker would earn at least $30,000 per year. The Labor Department could partner with non-profits to create a community service employment program that would enable part time and gig employees the opportunity to still earn $2,500 per month. This isn’t socialism, nor a drift toward a welfare state; it’s simply Americans earning a living.

Congress has already appropriated $2.3 trillion in stimulus spending and is currently negotiating an additional $250 billion. That amount could provide every household a check for nearly $20,000.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congressional Democrats should apply the brakes to further stimulus appropriation without reaching bipartisan consensus on legislation that provides health and economic security for all Americans.

Greg Melcher
Port Washington