America’s Dual Recession

[yankees60]

Do any here believe that Financial Advisor Magazine is part of that vast, left-wing, Socialist media pumping out all its propaganda?

Vinny

America’s Dual Recession

https://www.fa-mag.com/news/america-s-d ... 57583.html

"Before Covid-19 shut down entire sectors of the U.S. economy, the U.S. workforce was becoming increasingly polarized along educational, racial and geographic lines. Now, those trends have been accelerating, underscoring the need for a smart, worker-focused policy response.

Americans heading into the fall and the new school year are grappling with interrelated upheavals in health, the economy, family life and race relations. The Covid-19 crisis is falling hardest on the most vulnerable: people of color; people with disabilities; immigrants; women; the less educated; and other workers trapped in precarious, non-standard and low-wage jobs without health insurance or benefits. Worse, the jobs susceptible to the pandemic-induced recession overlap with those that will be susceptible to accelerating digitization and automation as the economy recovers.


All of this points to a “dual” recession in which America’s “haves” suffer a much softer blow than its “have-nots.” At the beginning of 2020, workers earning less than the hourly median wage were an estimated 44% of all workers, despite record-low unemployment rates and rising wages at the bottom of the income distribution (owing largely to many states’ minimum-wage increases). Low-wage workers are twice as likely as middle- and high-wage workers to have no more than a high school diploma. Around 54% are women and 45% are people of color, who are overrepresented relative to their share of the total workforce.

Low-wage workers are concentrated in labor-intensive, in-person businesses—leisure, hospitality, retail services and transportation—all of which have collapsed as a result of lockdowns and social distancing. At the same time, the pandemic has fueled the demand for digital services, which have mitigated job losses for those with a college education or higher. In June, the unemployment rate for those with a high-school education was 12.1% compared with 6.9% for those with a college education. Surveys from mid-April show that about half of all Americans who are usually employed are now working from home, but high-income workers are six times more likely than low-wage workers to be able to do so. Among low-wage workers who are still employed, many are in essential but high-risk sectors such as meatpacking and food processing.

The pandemic is not only further polarizing the U.S. labor market, it is also imposing costs disproportionately on the most at-risk populations. According to one recent report, 56% of Black families, compared with just 44% of white families, experienced job or income losses between March and May. Similarly, deaths from the virus itself have been disproportionately higher in Black and brown communities."

[I Shrugged]

I blame the Fed for suppressing interest rates and supporting stocks and financial assets. I googled up a quick article.

https://fortune.com/2019/05/02/fed-inte ... nequality/

But I agree the lockdowns have definitely aggravated the problem. Well off people seem to be able to work around the problem.

[Kriegsspiel]

Do any here believe that Financial Advisor Magazine is part of that vast, left-wing, Socialist media pumping out all its propaganda?

I kinda do, now.

[WiseOne]

Do any here believe that Financial Advisor Magazine is part of that vast, left-wing, Socialist media pumping out all its propaganda?

Pretty much, yes. See comments below.

America’s Dual Recession

https://www.fa-mag.com/news/america-s-d ... 57583.html

"Before Covid-19 shut down entire sectors of the U.S. economy, the U.S. workforce was becoming increasingly polarized along educational, racial and geographic lines. Now, those trends have been accelerating, underscoring the need for a smart, worker-focused policy response."

I think that phrase tells you all you need to know. When have those policies ever worked? Mostly they produce unintended consequences that just make everything worse.

"At the beginning of 2020, workers earning less than the hourly median wage were an estimated 44% of all workers, despite record-low unemployment rates and rising wages at the bottom of the income distribution (owing largely to many states’ minimum-wage increases). Low-wage workers are twice as likely as middle- and high-wage workers to have no more than a high school diploma. "

So let me get this straight. You effectively throw open the borders and allow a massive influx of unskilled, minimally educated immigrants to flood the US, to the extent that demographics are drastically changed. What th f*** did you think was going to happen??? Of course there is a massive oversupply of unskilled workers. As for "unskilled", "low wage", and "no more than high school diploma" being highly correlated...why is that news?

"45% are people of color, who are overrepresented relative to their share of the total workforce."

Separate issue already discussed extensively. There is a culture in black neighborhoods that is permissive of criminal behavior and does not value education and work. Until that changes, this statistic will not improve. Who will effect that change? It will have to come from within. And maybe they don't want it to change. In any case, "smart worker-focused policies" won't help this situation. Of note, the import of massive numbers of unskilled immigrants is only making it harder on this population. I don't get why the black community isn't fighting this tooth and nail.

"Low-wage workers are concentrated in labor-intensive, in-person businesses—leisure, hospitality, retail services and transportation—all of which have collapsed as a result of lockdowns and social distancing."

Indeed yes. Which is why it is rather a mystery to me why the left is so into maintaining lockdowns and business closures. If they are so pro-immigrant, compassionate toward the poor etc, shouldn't they be pushing to open these businesses?? The internal inconsistencies of these positions are just so obvious...to me anyway.

"According to one recent report, 56% of Black families, compared with just 44% of white families, experienced job or income losses between March and May. Similarly, deaths from the virus itself have been disproportionately higher in Black and brown communities."

Oh so now a virus that (news flash) doesn't possess a brain is targeting minorities on purpose. I love how these things are being inappropriately conflated and then thrown under the umbrella of "racism". Remind me who was complaining about politicians ignoring science?

Here's the good news: people are starting to question the media's nonstop narrative, which is rather well summarized by the above statements. Two of my relatives who have been rabidly anti-Trump and pro-Democrat for years are suddenly saying that they don't like what the Democrats are promoting, they're afraid of what the far left has in mind and don't think Biden is strong enough to hold them off, and that Trump has actually done a lot of good. And they plan to vote for him.