 "Interviews with those who have relied on the extra benefits offer a glimpse into a wide-reaching programme that may yet prove crucial to the economy’s recovery")
In about two weeks, millions of Americans could lose a crucial economic lifeline of this pandemic: $600 a week in extra federal unemployment benefits.
The scheduled end will ripple through households and the entire economy. The program accounts for a big chunk of the Treasury Department’s record jobless payments last month, which exceeded $100 billion. Without the additional cash, some of the hardest-hit households may be forced to choose which bills to pay and which to let slide.
For Amanda Steinhauser in New Jersey, it will mean burning through meagre savings even faster. For Chris Bolei in California, it means not knowing
