Photo via @sharonmccutcheon on Unsplash.
Midway through the previous year in the midst of the global Coronavirus pandemic, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, in late March. This bill included $2.2 trillion and was designed to help stabilize the economy and help those in need who were struggling during the pandemic and our economic recession. Congress in the past promised that the CARES Act would help those in need, the situation is described in a TIME article:
“Unlike the 2008 bailout packages, which funneled hundreds of billions to Wall Street and padded executives’ already-cushy pay packages, the CARES Act was shot through with provisions that lawmakers said would ensure that federal funds actually went to those in need. Any money loaned through the new $500 billion Federal Reserve program, for example, came with oversight measures, limits on stock buybacks and caps on executive compensation” (Alana Abramson, TIME Magazine, June 18, 2020).
Despite these guardrails being put in place, little to no difference was made for those actually in need, and what seemed to occur is that our rich got richer. A separate study done by Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) and the Institute for Policy Studies Program on Inequality found that “U.S. billionaires have seen their wealth surge $1.8 trillion during the pandemic, their collective fortune skyrocketing by nearly two-thirds (62 percent) from just short of $3 trillion at the start of the COVID crisis on March 18, 2020, to $4.8 trillion on August 17, 2021.”
This trend is nothing new in American politics and economics, where a focus and emphasis on trickle-down economics over that of directly uplifting the poor is emphasised and shown in action. Trickle-down economics usually includes tax breaks and cuts for the richest Americans and corporations, along with funds of relief being funnelled directly to them. This is done in the mind of the American capitalist and conservative in order to encourage the rich and wealthy to create more jobs and opportunities for middle and lower class citizens so that the benefits are felt by everyone, but this is not always the case. This past year, I personally observed, along with many others, a decline in the economic stability of those around myself and my community while seeing the rich and wealthiest individuals gather even more wealth. This goes to show that the funds were not used to simply upbring our communities and, instead, benefitted only one economic class of Americans: the plan backfired.
The same goes for local businesses where, in my community, delays and shutdowns due to the pandemic and lack of clear direction and assistance from the government made it impossible for them to keep up with their bills and corporate competition. Many businesses in my hometown and in West Chester were forced to close their doors for good while major retailers and corporations such as Amazon grew exponentially in their size and influence as their wallets became heavier. What we need to see in order to enforce an actual free and fair market is to give those who are disadvantaged and worse off a fighting chance to compete and to not overload the wallets of the rich and corporate powers more so than we already have.
Accredited Sources
TIME Article: https://time.com/5845116/coronavirus-bailout-rich-richer
Institute for Policy Studies Research: https://ips-dc.org/u-s-billionaires-62-percent-richer-during-pandemic