Coronavirus is officially a pandemic according to the World Health Organization, and jitters have tanked the stock market. But who the fuck really understands how the stock market works anyway? You know what all of us can understand pretty clearly? The fact that the virus is ravaging businesses across the United States. The Washington Post reports that hundreds of Americans have already fell victim to coronavirus-related layoffs. In a country where millions are already living paycheck to paycheck, the domino effect could be catastrophic.
From the Washington Post:
At the Port of Los Angeles, 145 drivers have been laid off and others have been sent home without pay as massive ships from China stopped arriving and work dried up. At travel agencies in Atlanta and Los Angeles, several workers lost their jobs as bookings evaporated. Christie Lites, a stage-lighting company in Orlando, laid off more than 100 of its 500 workers nationwide this past week and likely will lay off 150 more, according to chief executive Huntly Christie. Meanwhile a hotel in Seattle is closing an entire department, a former employee said, and as many as 50 people lost their jobs after the South by Southwest festival in Austin got canceled.
Many job losses have been concentrated in the travel, tourism, events and trucking industries. Economists fear more layoffs in the coming weeks as supply chains come to a halt and people stay home and spend less.
Given the fact that a thriving economy has been President Trump’s strongest selling point going into re-election, it looks like he’s going to be fucked on that point.
Baiden King lost her job at a bake shop in Omaha on Tuesday because online sales and customer traffic dried up dramatically — especially after the state’s first case of covid-19 was reported nearby. King said her manager told her when she showed up for her shift that morning she had no choice. King made $11 an hour.
“If my job’s laying off people, I can only imagine other employers are as well,” said King, who is preparing to move back in with her parents. “I’m not sure anyone will be hiring.”
If you’re going out and about these days, make sure you tip your waiters and bartenders a little extra. They’re going to be absolutely fucked for the foreseeable future.
Well before Joe Biden accidentally let slip that Kamala Harris endorsed him, the California senator has been on the VP shortlist of just about anyone with a lick of sense. The two appeared pretty fucking chummy in a... cute new video on Biden’s Twitter account in which Biden asked Harris to tell him a lil’ somethin’ about the K-Hive (aka Kamala Harris supporters: or more accurately, her stans...).
Keep the rumors comin’, guys.
(Is anyone else dying at that fake “cut” or is it just me?)
- Self-quarantined bad senator Ted Cruz has some dumb shit to say about President Trump and Coronavirus
- The Republican majority Senate just blocked a paid sick leave bill, just in time for a pandemic to hit the US! [HuffPost]
- We might have a stimulus package on the way. [New York Times]
- It looks like some votes are missing... [The Guardian]