Vast majority of Latino households are struggling financially
As Washington worked this week to craft the latest, long-promised and long-delayed coronavirus relief package, the Harvard School of Public Health and its partners have released a report painting a dire picture of how American households with children are faring financially amid the health and economic crises.
It’s not good news. More than 60% of families with children younger than 18 at home reported facing serious trouble making ends meet during the pandemic, which has taken more than 200,000 American lives and erased millions of jobs, the report said, warning that many households are staring into the abyss.
“These findings raise important concerns about the limited financial resources of these households to weather long-term financial and health effects of the coronavirus outbreak, as a large share have depleted their savings and report having major problems paying for basic costs of living, including food, rent, and medical care,” the report states, warning that both adults and children in these families may suffer long term.
Latino households with kids suffered the worst blow, according to the report, with 86% reporting serious financial difficulties, while 66% of Black families and 51% of white ones said the same.
The survey was conducted during July and August by Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, NPR and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The report provided only a snapshot in time, and by some measures, economic circumstances are improving as states open their economies. But public health officials say the nation will continue to deal with the virus for many months.
Related reports released this month examine the pandemic’s impacts on households by race and ethnicity, on city households, on rural households and on Americans as a whole.
Other findings in the report dealing with households with children state:
Since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, almost 60% of households with children said they had big problems caring for their children, with more than a third citing difficulty keeping their children’s education going. A lack of internet connectivity was cited as a major problem.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin met in person for the first time in a month Wednesday at the Capitol to try to hash out a massive COVID-19 rescue package. Pelosi (D) later issued a statement saying talks would resume Thursday.