Why will COVID-19 deepen inequality among Americans?

Coronavirus ravages the United States. The COVID-19 outbreak instantly plunged millions into poverty and is deepening existing social inequalities in the nation symbolic of capitalism, by first hitting lower-income households and the most disadvantaged social classes.

With more than 570,000 infected and 23,000 deaths, the North American nation is the epicenter of the global pandemic, something that has led Donald Trump to understand that it is not a joke and to feel how his reelection as president is in danger.

The far-right tycoon boasted that, thanks to his neoliberal policies, the American economy was progressing and creating «new jobs», but now he sees how the panorama is becoming increasingly black for his voters.

A blow to the Americans

«This is an extraordinary blow to the millions of Americans who barely recovered from the 2008 financial crisis», said Edward Alden, a journalist and expert on the United States Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).

«The virus is sending a clear message: all Americans are insecure», he said in statements to the AFP agency, in which the analyst recalled that wages took eight years to recover from the previous recession.

«For lower-wage workers, earnings have only increased in the past two years», added Alden, who is also a visiting professor at Western Washington University.

The end of March, with 700,000 jobs destroyed, marked an abrupt end to job creation, and in the same month, unemployment rose to 4.4%, according to official data.

Although it is too early to forecast how much the pandemic, that has not yet been controlled, will affect the US economy, several analysts agree that the most affected will be the workers who will see their wages reduced and even lose their jobs.

«We have to prepare for the impacts on employment and wages that will last until at least early 2021», said Bradley Hardy, a professor at American University.

More inequality in the land of capitalism

Trump’s neoliberal policies have caused an increase in the level of inequality between the very wealthy – who have accumulated substantial profits on the stock market – and those who depend on a salary to survive and make ends meet.

Even in the midst of the spread of the coronavirus, many Americans have no chance to stay home and take shelter, as they cannot afford to miss a day’s pay.

Some economic analysts warn that the recession that follows the pandemic will exacerbate inequality.

«Like the 2008 financial crisis, this pandemic will highlight the enormous vulnerability of many Americans», condemned the journalist Edward Alden.

Gregory Daco, chief economist at Oxford Economics, explained that this scenario will materialize since «sudden job losses are concentrated in low-income sectors», in a country with few social safety nets and an extremely low savings rate.

He indicated that 78% of the people with the lowest incomes do not have emergency savings to face unforeseen financial difficulties, while in those with the highest incomes the percentage drops to 25%.

«So the people who need it the most are the ones who have the least, and thus, resisting a lasting recession is impossible», he warned.

For his part, Bradley Hardy stated that the recession «will have negative effects on all incomes, even in some apparently wealthy households».

However, he made it clear that many middle-class households – and especially African-American households – will face grave and serious problems in a context of low savings.

African Americans, the most affected

In fact, as a result of inequality, the African American population, which totals 26 million people, is currently the most affected by COVID-19 in the United States, not only in economic terms, but also in terms of health.

According to initial data, they are the most likely to die from the coronavirus, «highlighting disparities in health and inequalities in access to medical care», the Reuters agency reported.

African Americans in Illinois account for about 30% of the state’s cases and about 40% of coronavirus-related deaths, according to official statistics.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot revealed that more than 70% of those killed by coronavirus in the state capital are African-American.

While in Michigan they account for 40% of the deaths reported by the pandemic.

The WHO warned that people with pre-existing conditions like asthma and other chronic lung disorders, diabetes and heart disease are more likely to have COVID-19.

Precisely that makes the virus particularly dangerous for African-Americans, who have higher rates of these diseases due to environmental, social and economic factors, revealed Summer Johnson McGee, dean of the University of New York School of Health Sciences. Haven.

Higher mortality rate from coronavirus

A study by the Office of the Minority Health Resource Center (OMH) concluded that the death rate of African Americans is generally higher than that of whites from diseases such as asthma, influenza, and pneumonia.

Although the entire population is vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19, African Americans may be at a disadvantage due to their living conditions and the access they have to health services.

Connor Maxwell, a policy analyst for the Race and Ethnicity team at the Center for Progress in America, recalled that “one in six black people was unable to see a doctor in 2018 due to cost, and 32% have experienced racial discrimination when going to a doctor or health clinic».

In this context, the analyst stated that the coronavirus could be especially dangerous in the African American community for three reasons.

«First, government policies segregated millions of African Americans in densely populated urban areas, where social distancing is more difficult, something that could increase exposure to the coronavirus», he said, quoted by journalist Grethel Delgado, for Diario de las Américas.

Second, «Black people are much more likely than white people to have serious chronic health conditions, such as asthma and diabetes, because they were systematically restricted to areas with toxic emissions from cars and industrial facilities and with less access to affordable and healthy food stores”.

Lastly, he denounced that «if black people contract the coronavirus, financial obstacles and discrimination could prevent them from receiving the medical care they need»-

Maxwell made it clear that «anyone of any race can contract the virus, become seriously ill, and even die from it», but that the problem is that «government policies and institutional practices have exposed black communities to high levels of toxic emissions and hazardous wastes that increase the risk of developing underlying conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease».

He also recalled that «people who develop these conditions have a higher risk of becoming seriously ill if they contract coronavirus».

The analyst highlighted the importance of taking actions in the short and long term and referred to a series of measures that «could help reduce financial barriers to care for black people who contract coronaviruses, such as offering them free tests and treatment, paid family and medical leave, and direct financial assistance”.