Even before the pandemic, more than two in five people in this country were poor or low-income, just $400 or less away from financial ruin.
That's 140 million.
During the pandemic, it got even worse. By the fall of 2020, 8 million more Americans had been pushed into poverty.
30 million people were put at risk of homelessness, and experts warn that the American Rescue Plan will fall short of helping them all.
Poor communities—especially Black, Latina/o, Asian and Pacific Islander communities—are more exposed to air pollution that makes COVID-19 more dangerous. And they're more likely to work the front-line jobs that expose them to the virus.
A costly and ineffective health care system will still leave Americans with the lowest life expectancy and the highest infant and maternal mortality rates among our peer countries.
Poor people and communities of color are much more likely to be incarcerated or abused by police.
New laws make it harder and harder for these impacted communities to vote. Hundreds have been introduced this year alone.
Opinion | Ending Poverty in the Richest Country on Earth (commondreams.org)
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