It is the middle of August, 8 months into a nightmare year for the United States that saw the national economy decimated, tens of millions of Americans forced out of work, and a dramatic degradation of living standards across the country. Do you remember the headlines that ran earlier in 2020? They promised a recovery as early as the third quarter of this year, a sharp climb back to normal levels of economic activity. However, when Q3 began in July, the situation actually took a turn for the worst.
A second wave of cases forced most states to roll back their plans for reopening. Vulnerable businesses that had already lost months of profits had to shut their doors once more shortly after welcoming customers back for the first time. Millions of temporary job losses became permanent as a rising number of businesses succumbed to bankruptcy or at least significant downsizing.
In this video, we are going to discuss the latest unemployment data and the signs that the US is diving deeper into this economic collapse. We’ll break down what’s to come, from the impending stock market crash to the crisis hitting the hotel industry.
But the respite was short lived. Last week, unemployment was on the rise again as claims spiked back up to 1.1 million. This was significantly higher than economists’ forecasts, which estimated that the figure would remain below the 7-digit threshold at 923,000.
Clearly, American workers are still being laid off en masse as the economy continues to crumble around us. In the meantime, the government has failed to push a second stimulus bill through Congress that would address the needs of these tens of millions of unemployed citizens.
All in all, over 57 million Americans have applied for unemployment assistance in only 22 weeks, and many of these individuals are dependent on these payments in order to keep up with basic living expenses like rent and grocery bills.
One of the few reasons the damage done to the US economy and the American public hasn’t been much, much worse is the emergency aid offered up by the federal government. The nearly 60 million jobless Americans have been able to make ends meet–if only barely–with $600 a week in unemployment benefits paid out by the government.
But with that assistance no longer in play, vulnerable citizens now have to rely solely on state benefits, which are often much smaller. In many cases, the state payments are not sufficient to cover basic living expenses. For example,
With the loss of aid comes a much a higher risk of eviction. Needy Americans are being forced from their homes left and right, even as tenants gather together to protest what they view as landlords’ unfair actions.
At this rate, individual Americans will be suffering for months to come. Already, tens of millions of them are missing bill payments every month, building up a backlog of debt that will come back to crush them when the crisis finally comes to an end.
Moreover, businesses are collapsing at an unbelievable pace. We’ve already reported on the dire situation facing the restaurant sector, which has seen nearly 75,000 establishments shuttered for good in the second quarter of the year. No one has been spared, with the economic devastation touching everything from tiny, family-owned cafés to Michelin star dining spots popular among the rich and famous.
In the latest news, the industry has warned that it is going up against a serious default disaster. 1 in every 4 hotels across the country is now at risk of foreclosure because they simply can’t afford to keep making mortgage payments.
We are only at the start of this economic collapse. Despite how dark things seem already, there is a long road ahead and far worse situations on the way. Of course, the Fed will make every effort to hold asset prices high and overly inflated, but they are fighting a losing battle.
While the country is wracked by one crisis after another, investors will hit a point when they finally realize that there is no light at the end of the tunnel. When investor confidence bursts, so will the giant stock market bubble.
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