NEW YORK (AP) – Last Christmas, Shanita Matthews cooked up a feast for her family of three: rotisserie chicken, barbecue ribs, spinach, mac and cheese.
This year? They will eat tuna with crackers, some of the few items you can afford at the supermarket.
“We won’t really have Christmas, I guess you can put it that way,” said Matthews, who lives in Suwanee, Georgia. “We have difficulties. We are tired and all I have is my faith,” he added.
Like almost 10 million Americans, Matthews has been unemployed since the viral pandemic swept through the economy from the United States in March, causing a devastating recession and widespread unemployment.
Now, many months later, they face a holiday season that they could hardly have foreseen a year ago: too little money to buy gifts, cook big holiday meals, or pay all your bills.
Nearly eight million people have sunk into poverty since June after spending the $ 1,200 checks that the government issued to most Americans in the spring.
A supplemental unemployment benefit of $ 600 a week expired in July, according to research by Bruce Meyer at the University of Chicago and two other colleagues. And finding a job is even more difficult: Hiring in November slowed for the fifth month in a row, and American employers added the fewest jobs since April.
[El Gobierno federal comunicó datos incorrectos de desempleo y pagó menos ayudas de lo debido a trabajadores]
In principle, there may be some relief on the way. This week, Congress approved a $ 900 billion pandemic rescue package that includes an unemployment benefit of $ 300 a week, cash payments of up to $ 600 for most people and a renewal of extended unemployment assistance programs that are about to expire.
However, on Tuesday night, President Donald Trump called the much-needed federal aid bill “a disgrace” and suggested he would not make it law.
Help, meanwhile, cannot come soon enough for Matthews. With your bank balance now negative, you are concerned that your account may be closed if you do not receive financial help soon.
Matthews, 41, has been struggling with finances since had to close his wedding business in March, when ceremonies were canceled and any demand for centerpieces and flower arrangements suddenly evaporated.
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The Georgia Department of Labor denied Matthews unemployment assistance. She does not understand why and is appealing the decision. But the process is so slow that he has waited months just to get an audience.
Despite being a registered nurse, Matthews has been unable to get a job. She can only work late into the night because she often needs to help her 6-year-old daughter, who must do virtual learning at home when virus cases spike in her school.
Matthews’ car was repossessed after she was unable to keep up with the payments. Most of what her husband earns goes toward a $ 1,600 mortgage on their house. That leaves them with around $ 200 a month for groceries, utilities, and a $ 50 internet bill, a necessity for your daughter’s school work.
Matthews hopes that a relative can help and buy her daughter a Christmas present.
“We want to be able to have food, water, heating,” he said. “Those are the things that matter to us.”
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