Protests over the government’s new stimulus package got personal over the holiday weekend. The homes of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Leader Mitch McConnell were both the targets of vandalism, with graffiti demanding more money in the package.
Last week, a bill which would have raised stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000 for millions of Americans passed in the House, but was blocked in the Senate by McConnell.
The truth is the COVID-19 economic hit has been personal for thousands of San Diegans for months now.
Ray Major, chief economist for the San Diego Association of Governments, told KPBS Midday Edition that his organization is going to begin studying the mental health toll of the pandemic because of the economic impact it will have in the future.
"These economic impacts are going to last far longer than the recession that was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. We will recover from this as an economy probably some time in late 2021, maybe some time in early 2022." Major said. "But when it comes to the impact that it had on people, that is going to be a much longer lasting impact and it will affect the economy in the long run."
As we begin a new year, with new vaccines to fight the pandemic, we check in with Major on the damage done and the possibilities for recovery in 2021.
