Losing Home, Losing Hope: The Eviction Moratorium Doesn’t Have to Expire
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Millions of families have been experiencing one of the worst kinds of anxiety for the past month — the anxiety of losing their home. Today, on July 31, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), along with the Biden Administration, will allow the Trump-implemented CDC eviction moratorium to expire. The final extension for the protection against evictions was extended in June 2021, and as of midnight tonight, there will no longer be a federal safety net for renters to lean on during these turbulent times.
Since the first COVID-19 infection entered the United States, people living in this country caught a glimpse of the power of the U.S. government was able and willing to wield when it came to creating safety nets for the most vulnerable who have been affected by the virus, their families, and the economic ramifications of millions of shuttered businesses. The bare minimum in federal aide has been implemented, and two of those policies have been the temporary halt in residential evictions, and the forbearance on mortgage payments. The former will expire at midnight tonight, while the latter has been extended until September 30, 2021.
Congress members are often quoted by asking “How can we afford it?” when faced with the possibility of creating an agenda that will help working-class Americans. That didn’t change when the deadly COVID-19 pandemic began ravaging the lives of hundreds of millions of American families.
For reference, the military budget that was passed in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was $738 billion during fiscal year 2020, yet I didn’t catch wind of any fiscal conservatives questioning how we might be able to afford such a bloated allocation of funds. The reason this budget deserves noting is because it is supposed to be spent towards defense, and not a dime was spent towards defending the American people against the spread of COVID-19.
When other countries such as New Zealand implemented nation-wide lockdowns in order to eliminate the spread of COVID-19, while paying their citizens to stay home, the U.S. under the Trump administration largely ignored the virus. Later, when it was entirely too late, the Trump administration took a highly austere approach. Needless to say, during a deadly global…
