Report Reveals Americans Are ‘Stealing To Survive’ Due To Congressional Aid Running Out And Food Shortages Occurring During The Coronavirus Pandemic

Report Reveals Americans Are ‘Stealing To Survive’ Due To Congressional Aid Running Out And Food Shortages Occurring During The Coronavirus Pandemic

December 11. 2020

President Donald Trump and U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

A new report reveals more Americans are stealing due to the poverty and lack brought on by the coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19). Congressional aid in the form of unemployment has run out for a number of people, while many never received any assistance at all.

As record job losses have occurred which have surpassed the Great Depression era, millions are without employment. This has brought on widespread stealing to obtain necessities such as food, shampoo, diapers and detergent. People are also stealing baby food. They are likely afraid their children will be taken by the state if they are unable to care for them, due to the virus. Congress needs to increase food stamp funding and money to charities that give food and supplies to the poor.

The Houston Chronicle reported, "The coronavirus recession has been a relentless churn of high unemployment and economic uncertainty. The government stimulus that kept millions of Americans from falling into poverty earlier in the pandemic is long gone, and new aid is still a dot on the horizon after months of congressional inaction. Hunger is chronic, at levels not seen in decades. The result is a growing subset of Americans who are stealing food to survive."

Congress has not done enough to address the economic fallout of the virus. The controls that were in place regarding the distribution of stimulus money was very, very poor. It enabled huge corporations to rush to the front of the line at banks and scoop up 95% of the money meant for small businesses. As a direct result of the pandemic and lack of stimulus funds, many small businesses in America went under and 50% of restaurants in the country collapsed. Millions of jobs have been lost (Report Confirms Stimulus Funds Earmarked For Small Businesses Overwhelmingly Went To Large Corporations).

Another item that created poverty is the $600 extra per week some received in unemployment benefits. Some were not even making that much money via their salaries pre-pandemic. While I'm happy for them they received the extra cash and hope they saved what they could to tie them over during these difficult times, millions received no money at all, though they too were entitled to unemployment benefits.

Hundreds of millions of dollars were also usurped by fraud, regarding members of the public each stealing millions in stimulus funds ('Love And Hip Hop Atlanta' Realty Star Arrested For Taking Over $2 Million In Coronavirus Stimulus Loan Money And Buying Jewelry With The Funds and Rapper Baby Blue Of Pretty Ricky Arrested For $24,000,000 Coronavirus Stimulus Funds Fraud).

There was even a scam in California, regarding five inmates who are convicted murderers stealing $150,000,000 in stimulus funds, which the government states cannot be recovered, due to how the fraud was performed.

Some of the aforementioned people lost their homes (house, condo, apartments), cars and credit cards, and are now living with family or friends, while some are on the streets homeless. The financial distribution of relief funds was lopsided and it is very regrettable, as it had real world consequences - poverty and homelessness (October 19, 2020: Homelessness In America Is Increasing Due To Coronavirus).

A recent article this week stated homelessness in America has reached record levels. The problem is not localized to one state in America. It is happening all over the country. Give credit where credit is due, Congress did provide funds, but much of it went to the wrong place in an extraordinary cash grab by the rich, while more needs to be done to help the poor.

STORY SOURCE

Stealing to survive: More Americans are shoplifting food as aid runs out during the pandemic

Dec. 10, 2020 Updated: Dec. 10, 2020 9:41 a.m. - Early in the pandemic, Joo Park noticed a worrisome shift at the market he manages near downtown Washington: At least once a day, he'd spot someone slipping a package of meat, a bag of rice or other food into a shirt or under a jacket. Diapers, shampoo and laundry detergent began disappearing in bigger numbers, too.

Since then, he said, thefts have more than doubled at Capitol Supermarket - even though he now stations more employees at the entrance, asks shoppers to leave backpacks up front and displays high-theft items like hand sanitizer and baking yeast in more conspicuous areas. Park doesn't usually call the police, choosing instead to bar offenders from coming back. "It's become much harder during the pandemic," he said. "People will say, 'I was just hungry.' And then what do you do?"

The coronavirus recession has been a relentless churn of high unemployment and economic uncertainty. The government stimulus that kept millions of Americans from falling into poverty earlier in the pandemic is long gone, and new aid is still a dot on the horizon after months of congressional inaction. Hunger is chronic, at levels not seen in decades.

The result is a growing subset of Americans who are stealing food to survive. Shoplifting is up markedly since the pandemic began in the spring and at higher levels than in past economic downturns, according to interviews with more than a dozen retailers, security experts and police departments across the country. But what's distinctive about this trend, experts say, is what's being taken - more staples like bread, pasta and baby formula.

"We're seeing an increase in low-impact crimes," said Jeff Zisner, chief executive of workplace security firm Aegis. "It's not a whole lot of people going in, grabbing TVs and running out the front door. It's a very different kind of crime - it's people stealing consumables and items associated with children and babies."…

https://www.chron.com

COVID-19 Pandemic Driving Homelessness In NYC To Record Levels, Advocates Say

December 9, 2020 at 6:30 pm - NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — The Big Apple has hit a grim milestone when it comes to the homeless crisis. A new report from homeless advocates says COVID-19 has helped propel the shelter population to record numbers, CBS2’s Andrea Grymes reported Wednesday.

The advocates call the numbers “astronomical.” They say for the first time the number of single adults sleeping in city Department of Homeless Services shelters reached more than 20,000. That includes an all-time record of 15,369 single men — and a near record of 4,841 single women — in October, the latest statistics available.

All of this is according to the campaign 4 NY/NY Housing — a coalition of advocacy groups. “This dire homelessness crisis among single adults has been exacerbated by COVID-19, which has already forced more individuals into homelessness and will likely worsen in the coming months,” said Giselle Routhier, policy director for the Coalition for the Homeless...

https://newyork.cbslocal.com