Even so, Mrs. Stewart worked happiest in solitude.
Ms. Stewart was a night nurse until 2019 and lived in Grand Rapids with her sister. Her sister fell behind with the rent and insisted that they move in with her mother, who is five hours away in rural Ossineke. Mrs. Stewart succumbed reluctantly. “We all depend on each other, which is good, except that we don’t get along,” she said.
With four children and conflicting parenting styles, the trailer turned out to be crowded and tense. When Mrs. Stewart found work as a gas station cashier – $ 10 an hour, 20 hours a week – she welcomed the escape as much as the payment.
The coronavirus hit a few weeks later.
Despite all the odds, help was on the way
When the virus spread in early March, President Donald J. Trump insisted it did not pose a threat. “Jobs are booming, incomes are rising,” he tweeted. For the next week, Disneyland and Broadway were padlocked, and the stock market posted its worst daily loss in decades.
While the need for action in Washington was clear, the risks of an impasse were great. Liberal Democrats controlled the House, Conservative Republicans held the Senate, and Mr Trump ridiculed the House Speaker as “Crazy Nancy” Pelosi. However, within a few weeks they agreed on a $ 2.2 trillion plan.
One surprise was how much it did for the poor, a class not known for its political clout. Even the poorest families fully qualified for stimulus payments – $ 1,200 for adults, $ 500 for children (some Republicans had suggested giving them less) – and at the urging of the Democrats, Congress significantly expanded unemployment benefits .
The existing program was filled with gaps: it only comprised around a quarter of the unemployed and replaced less than half of their lost wages. Congress expanded coverage, temporarily adding part-time workers, independent contractors, and other people who are normally excluded. And for four months everyone on unemployment benefits was given a big bonus: $ 600 a week.
