Moral Policy - Good Economics - Lifting Up Poor and Working-Class People—and Our Whole Economy

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by McQueen

The text examines how the coronavirus pandemic intensified existing U.S. inequality shaped by racism, poverty, and entrenched public policy choices. It argues that decades of policies—not individual failings—produced widespread economic insecurity and worse health and well-being outcomes for poor communities, especially people of color. It highlights that large numbers were excluded from many policies due to inaccurate accounting and discusses how pandemic closures collapsed employment and access to employer health insurance.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

The pandemic and preexisting inequality

Economic insecurity and unequal impacts

Policy constraints and missing counts

Roots of the pandemic recession

Public policies and recovery challenges

Moral Policy = Good Economics Lifting Up Poor and Working-Class People—and Our Whole Economy ILLUSTRAT IONS BY LUCY NALAND PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES By Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, Shailly Gupta Barnes, Josh Bivens, Krista Faries, Thea Lee, and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis W hen the coronavirus pandemic arrived, the United States was already deeply unequal. Before the pandemic, 140 million Americans were poor or near poor,* living just one emergency above the poverty line. The 140 million included approximately 60 percent of Black, non-Hispanic Americans (24 million), 64 percent of Hispanic Americans (38 million), 60 percent of Indigenous Americans (2 million), 40 percent of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (8 million), and 33 percent of white Americans (66 million) .2 Indeed, the pandemic spread rapidly in the fissures that previously existed because of racism, poverty, and profound inequality—and our refusal to acknowledge the full extent of these injustices in our public discourse or public policies. Alongside The Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II is the president and senior lecturer of Repairers of the Breach and a co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Callfor Moral Revival. Shailly Gupta Barnes is the policy director for theKairos Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice and the Poor People’s Campaign. Josh Bivens is the director of research atthe Economic Policy Institute (EPI), where KristaFaries is an editor. Thea Lee is theformer president of EPI. TheRev. Dr. Liz Theoharis is a co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign and the director of the Kairos Center. enduring inequities in the social determinants of health (including access to safe and affordable housing, clean air and water, healthful foods, quality education, and public transportation), the economic effects of the pandemic hastened even greater insecurity, especially for poor people of color. It is estimated that the 140 million grew to nearly 150 million during the pandemic,3 but most of these people remain uncounted among the poor and therefore excluded from many of our policies. Atthe same time, our policy responses to this widespread insecurity are constrained in part because we do not have an accurate account of it. This inequality in the United States did not happen suddenly and cannot be explained asthe consequence of individual failures; rather, decades of public policies brought us to this point, making the rich richer at the expense of everybody else. When we fail to meet basic needs for food, housing, and healthcare for everyone, when we fail to invest in education, safe communities, and fair elections, the health and well-being of our entire nation is compromised. We waste our most precious resources, yes. But more than that, we allow the potential of individuals, families, and communities—and the full potential of our nation and its ideals—to go unrealized. *“Americans” refers to all US residents, regardless of citizenship status.“Poor or near poor” is defined as having household income below 200 percent of the poverty threshold, per the Supplemental Poverty Measure. It is widely recognized, though, that both the Supplemental Poverty Measure and the even more miserly Official Poverty Measure set far too low a standard for economic security.1 4 AMERICAN EDUCATOR | FALL 2021 This article is a collaboration between the Poor People’s Cam- COVID-19 spread so efficiently in face-to face situations, eco- paign: A National Call for Moral Revival—amoral movement rooted nomic sectors that relied on in-person interactions—including in the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that is organizing food service, retail, hospitality, education, and many health secaround the needs and demands ofthe 140 million in 45 states—and tors, among others—were essentially closed when social distancthe Economic Policy Institute (EPI)—an independent, nonprofit, ing measures came into force. These widespread closures resulted nonpar

FAQs

Why does the text argue the U.S. inequality worsened so quickly during the pandemic?

It states the pandemic spread through fault lines already driven by racism, poverty, and profound inequality, and that public policy responses were constrained by an inaccurate account of who was affected.

What does the text say caused the inequality before COVID-19?

It argues inequality did not happen suddenly or from individual failures; decades of public policies produced it, making the rich richer at the expense of others.

How does the article describe the economic shock from COVID-19 and its effects on workers?

It describes widespread workplace closures leading to major job losses and an estimated loss of employer-sponsored health insurance, with recovery described as uneven and often slow.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by McQueen