The drop in the stock market since the coronavirus outbreak began has resulted in huge losses for millionaires in the United States. At the start of the year, there was a record 11 million people in the country with over a million dollars in assets, according to a new study published by research firm Spectrem Group.
However, after the fluctuating losses and gains of the past several weeks, approximately 500,000 people who were on that list are no longer millionaires. While that number is sure to change from day-to-day, it seems safe to assume that when all is said and done there will be fewer millionaires after the pandemic than there were before.
While there are some ripple effects experienced by the general population, the wealthy are most affected by the stock market crash. The top 1 percent of households owned 53.5 percent of equities and mutual fund shares, according to data from the Federal Reserve.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, the world’s 500 richest people have lost nearly $1.3 trillion since the beginning of the year. The nation’s wealthy certainly lost the most money in the past few months, but they had much more to lose, and many of them have private bunkers, or at the very least enough resources to get them through this difficult time.
People who live paycheck to paycheck may not have lost much money in the stock market, but many of them have lost their jobs and fear that they won’t be able to afford to survive in the coming weeks and months. It was reported this week that 3.3 million Americans filed for unemployment, shattering previous records.
The Labor Department said in a statement announcing the numbers:
“This marks the highest level of seasonally adjusted initial claims in the history of the seasonally adjusted series. The previous high was 695,000 in October of 1982.”
The United States government has been working to pass a $2 trillion stimulus bill which includes a small payout to some workers, but critics say that the bill has included too much corporate welfare, and not enough cash to the struggling hourly employees who need it the most.
Coronavirus-Crisis: Hundreds of NYPD Cops Test Positive for COVID-19, Thousands Call Out Sick
As New York City becomes a major epicenter for the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak in the United States, thousands of the city’s police officers are out sick.
At a press conference on Wednesday, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said that at least 236 members of the NYPD have tested positive for coronavirus and 3,200 additional officers have called out sick.
“We are backfilling patrols where we need to. We are taking on a variety of assignments,” Shae said, according to ABC News.
There are also 84 members of the New York City Fire Department who have tested positive for the virus.
NYPD struggling to supply cops with gloves, masks amid jump in coronavirus cases within force
Growing frustrations continue to increase among first responders over the lack of equipment during the coronavirus outbreak.
Posted by Fox News Video on Wednesday, March 25, 2020
People who are working in many industries in the United States currently don’t have access to proper protective equipment even though they are still dealing with the public during a pandemic.
In many cases, this causes workers in these positions to become sick themselves and pass the illness on to the many people they come into contact with. This is especially true for healthcare workers and police.
Last week, Richard Prado tweeted a video showing multiple police and rescue workers in New York dealing with a man who had suddenly collapsed on the subway after loudly gasping for air.
It is not clear what the man’s condition is or if he was infected with the coronavirus, but the crew that was working with him did not seem to have any kind of gear to protect them.
Just got off the R train. A rider gasped for air loudly, and dropped to the floor. I immediately got off the next stop and begin filming. I'm not sure about the man's condition or if it was the #Coronavirus or not, but in reality we can't afford to take chances anymore.#COVID pic.twitter.com/41LSbRjo5u
— Richard Prado (@Pilly_Prado) March 20, 2020
Meanwhile, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that 300 non-violent, elderly inmates will be released from Riker’s Island Prison, to help prevent the spread of a growing outbreak at the facility.
“We want to identify anyone in those categories and get them released immediately,” the mayor said, according to The Hill.
Only inmates who meet certain conditions will be released. These conditions include having serious pre-existing health conditions and less than one year remaining on their sentence. Inmates who were charged with sexual assault or domestic violence will not be eligible for release.
By John Vibes | Creative Commons | TheMindUnleashed.com
