Coronavirus Pandemic Pushes Millions of Californians to the Brink of Financial Disaster

KQED's Forum

KQED

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.6 • 656 Ratings

🗓️ 9 December 2020

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The coronavirus-induced recession has exacerbated income inequality in California and will only worsen unless political leaders take action, according to a new report from the Public Policy Institute of California. The pandemic is essentially pushing millions of Californians who were already living in poverty or paycheck to paycheck to the brink of financial disaster. After months of shutdowns and stay-at-home orders, many Californians face the end of unemployment benefits, about one in eight households are behind on rent or mortgage payments and any federal stimulus or economic relief remains uncertain. Public policy professor and former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich joins us to talk about this growing problem and how to address it. We’ll also hear more about the PPIC report and the economic consequences of the pandemic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Support for Forum comes from Rancho La Puerta, a wellness resort in Baja, California, just an hour from San Diego.
0:07.6	Three, four, and seven-night summer packages include fitness classes, hiking, live music, mindfulness, and culinary adventures, featuring fruits and veggies straight off the vine.
0:18.9	Special rates and offers are available for summer stays and first-time guests.
0:23.8	Saver summer at Rancho LaPuerta, rancho LaPuerta.com.
0:28.3	Support for Forum comes from Broadway SF, presenting Parade, the musical revival based on a true story.
0:35.7	From three-time Tony-winning composer Jason Robert Brown comes the story of
0:40.0	Leo and Lucille Frank, a newlywed Jewish couple struggling to make a life in Georgia. When Leo is
0:46.9	accused of an unspeakable crime, it propels them into an unimaginable test of faith, humanity, justice,
0:55.1	and devotion.
1:03.5	The riveting and gloriously hopeful parade plays the Orpheum Theater for three weeks only, May 20th through June 8th.
1:07.8	Tickets on sale now at Broadway, sF.com.
1:10.5	From KQED.com. From KQED. From KQED, from KQED, public radio in San Francisco, I'm Nina Kim. Coming up on
1:26.7	forum, the pandemic hit when income inequality
1:29.4	was already high. Now it's put millions of Californians on the brink of financial disaster. According to a
1:35.6	new report from the Public Policy Institute of California, one in eight households were behind on their
1:40.4	rent or mortgage payments in fall, and many face the end of unemployment benefits.
1:45.7	We look at what's needed to blunt the impact of the recession and create an equitable recovery
1:50.6	with UC Berkeley professor and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich and the Public Policy Institute's
1:56.5	Sarah Bone. Join us.
2:12.5	Thank you. Sarah Bone. Join us. This is Forum. I'm Nina Kim. Without more economic relief, hundreds of thousands of Californians will lose
2:18.9	unemployment benefits at the end of the year. By early next year, millions could face losing
2:23.6	their homes as the state's eviction moratorium is slated to expire February 1st. Here to talk
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from KQED, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of KQED and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.