Out of Work—Out of Money

Many Washingtonians are out of work and out of money. In August alone, over 19,000 people exhausted their benefits. Over 326,000 Washingtonians received benefits, although none collected additional emergency funds. Since August 2019, Washington State has lost 216,000 jobs.

In Klickitat County, 2,479 people applied for unemployment between March 15 and Sept. 6. Before then, from January 1 to March 14, less than 200 applications were filed.

2020 Unemployment Insurance Claims in Klickitat County.

Washington State Employment Security Department

Meanwhile, Republican senators have allowed emergency benefits to expire and have all but abandoned their efforts to assist ordinary folks. This abdication of responsibility comes while the wealthiest Americans are doing fine. The richest billionaires saw their wealth grow another $845 billion during the first six months of the pandemic. The richest 1% are projected to receive $78 billion in tax cuts this year.

Our nation has the wealth to better assist small businesses and workers who are struggling during the pandemic. But Republican lawmakers have other priorities.

It’s time to vote Democrat.