The Census is an important cornerstone of our system of government and has been taken every 10 years since 1790. Census data determines reapportionment in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Electoral College, and overall representation at the state and local levels.
Census data also informs the annual allocation of over $2 trillion in federal funding for infrastructure, health care, child care, education, rural housing and business development, first responders, and money for veterans. And 2030 is a big year because for the first time, the census will provide more diverse identification options for people from the Middle East and North Africa and Hispanic residents.
Congress is currently in negotiations on funding bills for FY 2025, which must pass by September 30th. One key issue is adequate funding for the U.S. Census. We are disappointed that the House proposes to cut Census Bureau funding to $1.354 billion―an amount that is well below both the agency’s FY 2024 funding level ($1.382 billion), the Administration’s FY 2025 budget request ($1.6 billion), and independent census experts’ request of $2 billion.
Right-wing members of the House are pushing to cut census funding and some want to exclude non-citizens from the count, which would be unconstitutional. Asking a citizenship question on the census will create anxiety and fear and lead to an undercount of millions of documented people who live in mixed immigration status households―including nearly 5.5 million children. Cutting census funding means more people in historically undercounted groups―including people with low incomes, Black and brown people, and young children―will be left out of the count, leaving them under-represented and their communities underfunded.
An undercount of these vulnerable communities means less money for Medicaid, public schools, housing, nutrition, and other critical services and programs.
The we’re-still-counting-votes-and-COVID-cases edition. Even as a record number of Americans cast ballots in Tuesday’s election, COVID-19 cases in the U.S. reached staggering levels. For the first time, we surpassed 100,000 new cases in a single day. Case levels have reached alarming new records in recent days as outbreaks continue to grow across the country. Weekly infection rates reached record levels in nearly half the country in late October. Oklahoma, Kansas, and North Dakota are among the states struggling to handle the onslaught of cases amid shortages of both nurses – who themselves are infected or in quarantine – and ICU beds.
Meanwhile, economists are warning of a “double dip” recession in the coming months, caused by the surge in infections. But there could be a hint of good news on the horizon. This week, in a post-election reversal, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate will take up a COVID-19 relief package when it returns for its lame-duck session. We don’t know how serious McConnell is or how robust the package will be, but McConnell did open the door to the possibility that it will include aid for state and local governments – urgently needed so that governments can continue to provide essential services, and to prevent further layoffs of government workers, which in turn would cause further damage to the economy.
The number of new COVID-19 cases reported in the U.S. on November 5. This was one day after the number of daily cases first exceeded 100,000, and marked a 54% increase from two weeks earlier. Tweet this.
More than 800
The average number of COVID-19 deaths per day in the U.S. in early November. That’s below the spring peak, but much higher than in early July. Tweet this.
53,322
Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in the U.S. on Nov. 5; highest since August 5. Hospitalizations are rapidly rising, from 41,010 on Oct. 22.
365,000
The number of private sector jobs added during the month of October – much lower than a previous estimate of 600,000 and well off September’s pace of 753,000. Tweet this.
45.3%
The percentof Americans who reported that someone in their household lost employment income since March 13. Among Latinx, it was 58%; Blacks, 52.5%; Asians, 44%; and whites, 40%. Tweet this.
11%
The percent of Americans reporting that they did not have enough to eat the previous week. Among Blacks, it was 19%; Latinx, 18%; whites, 8%; and Asians, 6%. In households with children, it was 14%.
Proportion of tenants not caught up on rent, as surveyed from October 14-26 (8.4 million people). More than one in five people in households where someone lost work income is behind in rent.
102,004
The number of eviction filings in 24 cities tracked by Princeton University’s Eviction Lab since March. Currently, a moratorium prevents actual evictions, but landlords may still proceed with filings. In Maryland, “hundreds” of eviction filings were submitted in court by Westminster Management, part owned by Trump son-in-law and advisor Jared Kushner. Westminster adds court fees to the rent owed when the notices are filed.