Page 63 - COVID-19: The Great Reset

The first effect of the pandemic has been to magnify the macro
challenge of social inequalities by placing a spotlight on the

shocking disparities in the degree of risk to which different social
classes are exposed. In much of the world, an approximate, albeit
revealing, narrative emerged during the lockdowns. It described a
dichotomy: the upper and middle classes were able to telework

and self-school their children from their homes (primary or, when
possible, secondary, more remote residences considered safer),
while members of the working class (for those with a job) were not
at home and were not overseeing their children’s education, but

were working on the front line to help save lives (directly or not)
and the economy – cleaning hospitals, manning the checkouts,
transporting essentials and ensuring our security. In the case of a
highly developed service economy like the US, roughly a third of

total jobs can be performed from home, or remotely, with
considerable discrepancies that are highly correlated with
earnings by sectors. More than 75% of American finance and
insurance workers can do their job remotely, while just 3% of

much lesser paid workers in the food industry can do so. [58] In the
midst of the pandemic (mid-April), most new cases of infection
and the death count made it clearer than ever that COVID-19 was
far from being the “great leveller” or “equalizer” that so many

people were referring to at the beginning of the pandemic.
Instead, what rapidly emerged was that there was nothing fair or
even-handed about how the virus went about its deadly work.

In the US, COVID-19 has taken a disproportionate toll on

African Americans, low-income people and vulnerable
populations, such as the homeless. In the state of Michigan where
less than 15% of the population is black, black residents
represented around 40% of deaths from COVID-19 complications.

The fact that COVID-19 affected black communities so
disproportionately is a mere reflection of existing inequalities. In
America as in many other countries, African Americans are
poorer, more likely to be unemployed or underemployed and

victims of substandard housing and living conditions. As a result,
they suffer more from pre-existing health conditions like obesity,
heart disease or diabetes that make COVID-19 particularly deadly.

62