Here in the United States, more than 30 million people are unemployed as a result of the Coronavirus lockdown. The toll, all told, includes elevated suicide rates, the destruction of small and medium-sized businesses, and the coming wave of evictions this summer which is anticipated to put hundreds of thousands of people out of their homes.
One of the most depressing consequences of the economic damage of the lockdown is the families who have had to turn to welfare. Many new welfare recipients are hard-working people who never wanted or needed it before. Many loathe the idea of taking money that was forcibly extracted from tax-paying citizens, but people who must feed their families have much more than their own lives to lose.
For a broader perspective, we look to the nation of India and the calamitous effect the lockdowns have had there.
Recently, Newsmax covered the story of one Abdul Kareem, a man who worked his way out of desperate poverty by driving a delivery truck. Kareem had to leave school and take odd jobs, and creating his delivery truck business is exactly the sort of thing we love to see here in America. But Kareem’s business was crushed by lockdowns. The businesses he delivers to are not operational. And social distancing mandates prevent him from developing a new customer base. His savings are exhausted, and he – like many of his fellow Indians – is desperate.
He told Newsmax, “I don’t know what the situation will be in Delhi once we go back. I will do whatever I find.”
We’re sure that he will. Across the globe, as many as 40 million working people are projected to be at risk of falling into extreme poverty due to the loss of jobs that have been destroyed by lockdowns. Extreme poverty is considered an income of $1.90 a day or less either in money or estimated in an exchange of goods.
As severe as the damage has been in America, India has been hit the hardest by this global economic downturn. Over 122 million Indians lost their jobs last month according to the Center for Monitoring Indian Economy.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Trump recently. He has been a populist leader who has expressed his appreciation and admiration for President Trump.
He said, “Much of our efforts to mitigate poverty could be negated in a matter of just a few months. More people could die from hunger than the virus.”
In recent years India has become one of the United States’ closest new allies. Their economy has been largely rebuilt with an American work ethic as its backbone. The culture has been transforming into one that more and more respects the freedoms of the individual. This change in attitude has brought their people and ours closer together.
Now, just as the US has benefited from Trump’s economy, India is losing much of what it has gained from the populist movement.
The only real beneficiaries of the lockdowns are big corporations who are legally immune quarantine laws and the political opponents of populist leaders who want their populations dependent on the government.
Featured Image by Jernej Furman
