A just pandemic recovery would grow N.C.’s abundance by sharing it
Since the start of the pandemic, there has been a lot of talk about what a just recovery – one that allows us to emerge from this crisis stronger – looks like.
In North Carolina, COVID-19 has proven that, when pressed, we can use fiscal policy to provide broadly shared benefits that boost economic growth. Yet some still see the economy as an outside force that is out of our control.
The truth is we are the economy. We create the economic conditions that determine who has enough food to eat, a place to call home, and a safety net to catch us when we fall on hard times. The people we elect to represent us make choices when they craft and pass legislation that has real and meaningful effects on our daily economic reality.
Every spring, the North Carolina Budget & Tax Center analyzes the economies of all 100 counties in North Carolina. And every fall we publish a poverty report that highlights how people in our state are faring.
This year, the county data showed that almost one-third of North Carolinians are considered “low-income.” For a family of four, that means they brought in less than $50,000 a year.
On the other hand, the richest 5 percent of households (which earn more than $220,000 a year) on average make 28 times more than the poorest 20 percent of households (which earn less than $20,000 a year).
Furthermore, our poverty report revealed that the statewide poverty rate is about 14 percent, but for Black people in North Carolina the poverty rate is about 22 percent and for Native Americans it is closer to 26 percent. That means 1 in 4 Native Americans living in North Carolina are living in poverty.
No matter which way you slice it, these results show that our economy wasn’t working for working people before the pandemic. Now there are even more people who are trying to figure out where their next paycheck or meal is going to come from.
When our state leaders pass discriminatory policies that exclude people who need public support or create loopholes for people who are already well-off, it reinforces the idea that there aren’t enough resources to go around.
To build the just recovery and resilient economy we need, we must start with a mindset of abundance. Since the start of the pandemic, North Carolina’s three billionaires have seen their net worth increase by about $1.5 billion. At the same time, over 3 million North Carolinians have filed for unemployment.
Our state currently has an unreserved balance of $4.7 billion – money that is available to fuel our state recovery today.
Those unreserved funds reflect the General Assembly’s failure to pass a comprehensive budget for the past two years and a longer-term refusal to meet the needs of struggling families and communities. Despite North Carolina’s cash-rich reality, our state’s responses to COVID-19 and the resulting economic fallout have been diminished by decades of disinvestment, particularly in low-income communities.
There is plenty of money to go around, but we need structural change to ensure that future generations have access to the resources they need to thrive. Investing in our public institutions would improve health-care access, keep people housed, expand educational opportunities, and fuel our economy. Failing to do so could result in a never-ending road to recovery.
In 2021, we have a choice: Continue to prioritize the wealthy, privileged few at the expense of the rest of us, or chart a new course by leveraging our collective resources to build a just, resilient economy for all.
As North Carolina’s General Assembly returns to Raleigh on Jan. 27, they must pass a comprehensive state budget that addresses the pressing needs of families and communities most affected by this public health and economic disaster.
To realize a just recovery, our elected leaders must put people first and build the vibrant, inclusive, resilient economy our state needs.