By Raúl Capote Fernández on May 10, 2023
photo: Guillermo Flores
In any crisis situation in the U.S. economy, the first to be affected are minorities. Unemployment, cuts in assistance programs, debts, take their toll on the poorest communities first and foremost.
For example, if Republicans in Congress do not approve a new debt ceiling for President Joe Biden’s administration, Latin Americans would be among the hardest hit, warned Joelle Gamble, deputy director of the National Economic Council, in and article in La Opinión.
“This is particularly significant for Hispanic communities, because it’s going to affect the overall economy. And as you know, well, when the economy is not doing well, many communities, including the Hispanic community, can be hurt the most,” Gamble said.
Recently, the Congressional Budget Office and the U.S. Treasury Department warned that as many as eight million jobs could be lost. Risks include damage to mortgages and credit card interest rates.
The U.S. financial crisis could result in a decline in employment in key sectors for Latin American immigrants, such as construction and food manufacturing.
An increase in unemployment would have an immediate affect on the Latino population, causing a serious deterioration in their living conditions.
According to CNN, workers of African descent and Latinos are more likely than white workers to be in hourly jobs, making them more susceptible to layoffs. Latino families for example earn between 71 cents and 74 cents for every dollar earned by the median white family, according to a JPMorgan report.
Further aggravating the situation is that, as of March, the food aid that the U.S. government had been offering to low-income people because of the covid-19 pandemic ended. Over 20 million will be purged from the monthly allotments.
Gina Plata-Nino, deputy director of the SNAP program of the Food Research and Action Center, pointed out that one out of every five Latinos suffers from hunger in the U.S. and that, after the cancellation of this aid, these figures could increase and harm millions in the world’s largest economic power, according to CNN.
On every level the economic, social and judicial environment is very unfavorable and hostile for undocumented migrants who do the lowest paying and most dangerous jobs in the in United States.
Source: Cuba en Resumen