There is a set of critical domestic economic matters which are coming together in a perfect storm that will be striking the U.S. in the next weeks. They include: 1) the reduction or even end of unemployment support payments to over 32 million unemployed workers; 2) the end of payroll guarantees to small companies, which have allowed them to maintain their workforce until now; 3) the end of forbearance on non-performing mortgages and rents, with attendant evictions; and 4) a second wave of layoffs has begun, as shutdowns increase of sectors of the economy hit by the new wave of COVID-19.
“Fast Company” website has an article reviewing point #3 above, noting that, before the pandemic, some 2.3 million American renter households each year received eviction papers at some point. The current estimated rental shortfall nationally is about $22 billion, and various estimates indicate that there could shortly be 2 million evictions per month. “Global advisory firm Stout, with input from the National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel (NCCRC), used census survey results and income data to develop a new eviction estimation tool that estimates how many households could be at risk of eviction as moratoriums end, courts reopen, and rent relief efforts fall short,” the article reported. “More than 16 million renter households are at risk of eviction, according to the tool, and more than 11 million households could be served with eviction papers over the next four months.” The Aspen Institute puts the number of households at risk of eviction at about 20 million.
