I am a long time lurker, but this is my first diary. I am writing because I don’t know what to do and hoping that you will have some thoughts!
I believe that there is a hidden problem with the Coronavirus pandemic that no one is talking about. I am a 67 year old woman with a 78 year old husband. We had a nest egg that we invested in the stock market because interest rates were so low it was the only way to increase our income. My social security is minimal because I have been the family caretaker for almost 30 years. I have taken care of our son, my brother-in-law and my mother. We have now lost half of our nest egg and no longer will be able to make an adequate income from the stock market. The other potential forms of income are not available because of the shelter in place order, which I wholly agree with. I can’t rent out our son’s room, or even try to find a job, even if anyone would hire an older woman who has not worked for 30 years. I know that we are not alone in this predicament. Everyone is focused on the worker and small business, which is appropriate; however someone should realize that we are also in danger of losing our homes. An increase in social security payments, even if only temporary, would go a long way towards helping those of us who are hurting find a way to survive. Another alternative would be to bail out home owners, perhaps by having a six month moratorium on mortgage payments and then offering two options, one would add six months to the length of the mortgage and the other would increase the individual mortgage payment by no more than 20 percent; otherwise I believe that there will be a wave of mortgage defaults that will make the 2009 recession look mild. The government bailed out the mortgage industry back then, perhaps focusing on the individual homeowner this time would be more appropriate. The stimulus check is totally inadequate. I can’t collect unemployment for taking care of my husband, who is recovering from cancer surgery, nor can I apply for a small business loan for my caretaker and house cleaning business, since I only work in my own home and my work, though essential is not valued. If I had a child care, elder care and house cleaning business my social security check would be at least double. We should not just be considered expendable because we are older .We can’t burden our children; they are paying off student debt. We, those who depended upon the stock market and social security, or other side jobs are under severe stress. We have no idea how we can replace our lost income and how we will survive. We will not get through this together, we need help. We are truly silent economic victims of the pandemic.