ASK THE CANDIDATES: What will you do to ensure North Carolina families and communities have what they need to make ends meet during the COVID-19 crisis and can recover in its aftermath?
State and local governments need support from the federal government to continue providing public services. What will you do to ensure North Carolina’s public institutions have the resources they need to meet the demand for public services during this public health and economic crisis?
Federal Unemployment Insurance benefits have been a critical resource for millions during the pandemic. Do you think the federal government response has been adequate? What would you do differently to support jobless workers?
Learning has become more challenging and more critical to keeping kids engaged and to mitigate COVID-19 related learning loss. What plans do you have to ensure school-age children, teachers, and other staff that are vital to a child’s education and well-being are support? What will you do to ensure students have what they need to safely learn?
Prior to COVID-19, families had a difficult time putting food on the table due to policy choices at the state and federal level. Do you support raising the maximum benefit for SNAP (food stamps) by 15 percent? If not, what do you propose?
An estimated 301,000 North Carolinians were excluded from receiving economic impact payments because they live in households where at least one family member files taxes using an Individual Tax Identification Number instead of a social security number. What would you do to ensure our immigrant neighbors and dependents who have been excluded can still receive the benefits they were denied via the CARES Act stimulus payments?
Our elected federal leaders must ensure good schools, healthy neighbors, and safe communities are not threatened despite the COVID-19 pandemic, and that individuals and families can make ends meet.
FACTS YOU CAN USE
In May, North Carolina had an unemployment rate of 12.9 percent, one of the highest rates ever recorded, with roughly 440,000 more state residents out of work compared to February.
Approximately 1.2 million North Carolinians, representing 22.5 percent of the state’s February labor force, have filed unemployment insurance claims since the beginning of March. Some estimates are projecting a double-digit unemployment rate well into 2021.
Between February and May, 61,500 public sector workers were laid off in North Carolina. The economic gravity of the shortfall cannot be stressed enough; without further federal aid to state and local governments, our state is projected to lose 156,500 private and public jobs by the end of 2021.
North Carolina’s tax revenues are plummeting, creating a severe funding crisis for schools, health care, and other critical services. The state government has projected a budget shortfall of $1.6 billion in FY 2020 and $2.6 billion in FY 2021, representing declines of 7 percent and 10 percent, respectively.
Cities across the state are facing serious revenue shortfalls as well. Charlotte recently projected a budget shortfall of $22 million. It’s estimated cities will experience $360 billion in revenue loss through fiscal year 2022, which will force them to significantly cut spending on crucial services or raise taxes on already recession-battered residents.
North Carolina could lose roughly 79,600 education jobs by the end of FY 2022 due to the decline in state general revenues that fund education.
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