The poverty rate in the United States increased 2.4 percentage points from the summer, up to 11.7%, according to a report from researchers at the University of Chicago and the University of Notre Dame.
The federal poverty threshold for a family of four is $26,200.
"Early in the pandemic, the federal government offered a relief package that included large, one-time stimulus payments to households and greatly expanded unemployment insurance benefits," the report explained. "But some of these benefits have expired, and others are set to expire this month, raising important questions about the long-term impact of the pandemic on poverty."
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Those early stimulus packages lifted millions of citizens out of poverty at the beginning of the pandemic amid one of the largest national shutdowns in modern history. Between April and June, the national poverty rate dropped from 10.9% to 9.4%, a rate lower than before the pandemic started, according to the Census Bureau.
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That was even though the U.S. was undergoing the highest unemployment rate since the Great Recession, with an April unemployment rate of 14.7%.
"The entire decline in poverty through June can be accounted for by the one-time stimulus checks the federal government issued, predominantly in April and May, and the expansion of unemployment insurance eligibility and benefits," the researchers discovered. "In fact, in absence of these programs, poverty would have risen sharply."
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Congress is in the process of negotiating an about $908 billion coronavirus bill declared by a bipartisan group of lawmakers earlier in December. The bill introduced help for small businesses and temporary liability protection against coronavirus-related lawsuits, both important steps for Republicans, and a step of supplemental federal unemployment and help for state and local governments — two must-haves for many Democrats.
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that the upper chamber will not adjourn until an aid package is agreed on, "no matter how long it takes."
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Ivanka Trump, Though, courted criticism on social media after claiming that coronavirus lockdowns were not backed up by scientists, and said they are not worth the cost.
"These blanket lockdowns are not grounded in science," she tweeted. "These arbitrary rules imposed by callous politicians are destroying lives. It is just wrong for small business owners to have [fought] so hard to keep their American dream alive."
She was joined by many: “It will never stop amazing us that in the midst of the worst pandemic in a century, rather than turning to doctors and scientists, the closest advisors to the president were his fashion-brand owning daughter… This is why we need tighter nepotism laws”, the Citizens for Ethics organisation tweeted.
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