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(This piece was originally published on December 13th. I’ve added a new paragraph in parenthesis in response to the stimulus bill Trump signed on December 27th.)Broadly speaking, there are 3 stories dominating American politics today.The future Biden Administration. With cabinet packs, the Georgia runoff elections, and various lawsuits/conspiracies from Trump and the Republican Party all apportioned their own news cycle.A massive increase in COVID-19 caseloads and fatalities, surpassing the heights of the summer and overwhelming hospitals throughout the nation.A recession forced by the virus, and Congress’s failure thus far to pass another stimulus package.These stories involve a lot of moving parts and often a significant time and monetary commitment for those who wish to follow them closely. That isn’t a privilege everyone has, nor a commitment that will always align well with personal priorities. Even for those who have such flexibility, I know first how easy it is to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information. As such, I do think there’s a meaningful utility in writing that summarizes key components of such complex stories in accessible ways. This is at the heart of what I wanted to do with Left Brain on Quora and what I will be aiming to do in this post.I imagine I’ll write pieces on all of these topics in the coming months, but for today, I’ll be focusing on the third story. Specifically, I’ll be highlighting some of the most prominent hardships caused by the COVID recession, and how they have developed throughout the past year.One last note before we start: everything written here is taken from a far more talented group of journalists and researchers. My intention is simply to synthesize it in an accessible manner. Any praise regarding the graphics used and the information presented should go to them. I have included links to everything referenced here on a Sources link you’ll find at the very bottom, and if you find yourself wanting more detail regarding any point, I’d encourage you to visit them.Employment.The Bureau of Labor and Statistics releases a monthly report on employment on the first Friday of every month. This is usually referred to as “Jobs Day”, with the report’s findings generally dominating the media and setting the tone for how pundits discuss the economy. Since COVID-19 has brought mass unemployment with Congress passing the largest stimulus in American history in response, it has served as an essential benchmark for the nation’s recovery.December 4th was our most recent Jobs Day, and its central theme was deceleration. [1]To chronicle:The first wave of COVID resulted in unprecedented employment loss and over 20 million people lost their jobs by the end of April.May and June saw massive employment gain with 7.3 million jobs added.July and August saw growth continue at 3.2 million, still sizeable but at a noticeably slower pace.September and October saw anemic growth with only 1.2 million jobs added.November (not shown) saw 245 thousand jobs added, less than 40% of October’s total.While it’s unlikely that job growth continues to stay as bad as it was last month, even October’s growth rate would take 15 months to reach pre-COVID employment levels. The pace of recovery is slowing dramatically.What’s most worrying is the composition of those currently unemployed. The pandemic has been an immense challenge for most businesses, but the stimulus provided by the federal government—aided by various actions taken by the Federal Reserve to lower the cost of borrowing—created a lifeline for these employers and their employees. This is a key part of the growth spike we saw in May and June. When quarantines loosened up and workplaces started adjusting, millions of Americans had jobs to go back to. That has been less true each passing month with unemployment increasingly concentrated amongst those with permanent job losses. [2]This long term unemployment has mostly concentrated among low-income workers. As shown below, employment rates for the top and middle third of workers by wage have largely recovered, being around 2% lower than it was in January. The bottom third is miles off, with employment over 7% lower today. It is those of the fewest means who are struggling to find employment, and in this regard, the COVID recession is easily the worst of the past 3 decades. [3][4]In demographic terms, Black and Hispanic citizens, who are already disproportionately likely to work in essential industries and fatally contract COVID, have seen the greatest loss in employment. While the female unemployment rate is roughly equal to the male one at the moment, this obscures the fact that women have left the labor force at a much higher rate. With women being more likely to work in industries especially harmed by COVID and putting in extra childcare to compensate for school closures. [6]Finally, it’s worth mentioning that the headline unemployment rate probably understates employment challenges. Partially due to misclassification (people who lost their jobs being classified as “absent”), and partially because some who aren’t seeking jobs are likely to start again once the pandemic is over. When accounting for both, the Peterson Institute estimates a “realistic” unemployment rate of 8.5% instead of 6.7%. [7]HardshipMarch’s mass layoffs would have resulted in a massive decline in disposable income and consumer spending, a gut punch to an economy already bowled over. That didn’t happen, which comes almost entirely down to the CARES Act. Providing a lifeline for the business sector and offsetting a significant portion of the rise in poverty. [8] [9]Still, the cracks left by this recession are apparent everywhere, and the failure to pass new stimulus has seen them spread. The most substantial aid provided by CARES was extending unemployment benefits beyond the usual 13 weeks and adding $600 in weekly payments on top of that. While claims for these benefits have trended downward (reflecting the job growth highlighted above), the decline in aid provided by the government drastically outpaced this trend. The extension of the 13 week benefit period remains in place, but the expiration of the $600 weekly unemployment checks provided by CARES in July meant the average benefit receipt more than halved by October. [10] [11]Now to be clear, there has been widespread welfare usage outside of unemployment benefits. The stimulus packages committed hundreds of billions on top of usual public benefits spending, with healthcare, food and housing aid, disaster assistance (used to fund some unemployment benefits via a Trump Executive Order), and education receiving additional investment. Amidst the surrounding economic turmoil, this has provided meaningful support to poor families. [12] [13]But this hasn’t been enough for many, and the loss of extra unemployment income coupled with stagnating job growth has had devastating consequences. Whatever savings the unemployed managed to put together by July have likely expired,with nearly a fifth of households describing themselves as behind on rent, and food insecurity persisting at its highest point in decades. [14] [15]It’s worth remembering that these hardships, awful as they might be in the moment, will have an impact that far outlasts COVID. Food insecurity is known to lower children’s future health, income, and educational achievements. The loss of parental income, geographic mobility, employment, and child schooling time is likely to have similar damaging effects. Short term costs rarely have short term consequences when it comes to basic needs. [16] [17]State and Local BudgetsThe Great Recession saw state and local governments become a drag on the recovery due to cost-saving measures, and COVID seems destined to force even greater revenue loss. One of the most recent estimates places the revenue shortfall at ~$467 billion by the end of 2022, with the $212 billion provided by CARES leaving roughly $250 billion unaccounted for. [18] [19]“In aggregate, we estimate that state and local ownsource revenues, excluding fees to public hospitals and institution of higher four education—which we view as somewhat distinct— will decline $155 billion in 2020, $167 billion in 2021, and $145 billion in 2022. Including lower fees to hospitals and higher ed would bring these totals to $188 billion, $189 billion, and $167 billion.We then turn to a discussion of federal aid. We estimate that the legislation enacted last spring provides about $212 billion in aid to state and local governments, excluding aid to public hospitals and higher ed, and $250 billion including that aid.This analysis was made prior to our most recent wave of caseloads, which when coupled with decelerating job growth, suggests this might end up being a conservative estimate of revenue lost.Why is this a state & local problem when federal tax revenue is also shrinking? The main reason is that most states have balanced budget amendments within their constitutions. That doesn’t mean they can’t have substantial long term obligations (like pensions), and variation according to budget cycle and deficit rules provide some with flexibility. But broadly speaking, they can only spend what they take in and they can’t finance their yearly spending with debt.Projected shortfalls have already had a substantial impact at the state level, with education, healthcare (via reduced Medicaid spending), and infrastructure amongst the many sectors that risk long-term disinvestment. [20] [21] [22]All of these play fundamental roles in community health and long term economic prospects. Failing to adequately fund them could have massive downstream implications for American families and children. Cuts are likely to be most prevalent in education, with spending declines during the Great Recession showing just how damaging they could be. We’ve already seen a loss in student learning due to COVID, this could significantly compound that harm. [23] [24] [25]On average, a $1,000 reduction in per-pupil spending reduces average test scores in math and reading by 3.9 percent of a standard deviation and increases the score gap between black and white students by roughly 6 percent. A $1,000 reduction also lowers the college-going rate by about 2.6 percent. Declines in test scores and college-going tracked the recession-induced decline in per-pupil spending and did not abate as the economy recovered—providing further evidence that the declines are driven by spending changes rather than other effects of the recession.Going ForwardI do think it’s important to highlight that we’ve had some success here. The financial sector (aided by historic action from the Federal Reserve) has proved quite resilient to harms in the general economy, with investors’ long-term confidence outweighing COVID’s short term disruption. Widespread bank failures are the last thing we need right now. Moreover, the last round of stimulus was broadly successful in saving us from an absolute calamity.(Thankfully, Congress did end up passing a stimulus. Saving us from a nightmare scenario where 10+ million people lost benefit income entirely and providing essential reinforcement to American food, housing & educational assistance programs. For the sake of transparency, I’m including the paragraph below from my original post. But please understand that this did not end up happening, and that was precisely why I & countless others advocated for this stimulus despite not believing it to go nearly far enough.)But it’s hard to enjoy CARES’s success when we have failed to build upon it. The blunt truth of the matter is that people need a lot more help, and barring Congress making a deal in the next three weeks, the situation is set to deteriorate further. On December 26th, over 10 million people will lose access to unemployment benefits entirely, with millions more likely to lose access over the next few months. All of which would occur amidst our largest COVID spike to date. 26] [27]Congress is once again debating a new stimulus bill, and while I’m sure that package will be far from what I and most liberals would deem sufficient, any partial relief (that could conceivably pass a Democratic House) would be infinitely better than doing nothing.I’d be lying if I said I saw an easier road ahead. I do think we’ll eventually have a new stimulus package, but given the current state of negotiations, I don’t know if we’ll be able to get it done before December. It’s also unlikely whatever is agreed on is sufficient for the next two years. Senate Republicans will have fewer incentives to spend after this round, as COVID vaccinations ramp up and a new administration becomes the beneficiary of any economic gains. Graham has already signaled his intention to focus on debt reduction for his next term, and I expect most Republicans will follow suit. (Winning the Georgia runoffs would help significantly in this regard, but even then the support of 10+ Republicans would be required to bypass a filibuster.)I hope this piece has done something to press the importance of doing everything we can to help those caught in this mess, even if we can only help at the margins. I’ve included links to the Georgia Senate race, Feeding America*, and a guide on how to contact your Representatives and Senators. If you have the means to contribute to the first or second, or time to dedicate to the third, I beg you to do so. There are many lives that have been transformed by small acts of kindness, and we never know what tempests our small actions might stir in teapots.To quote the wonderful Andrea Gibson:“My mother says the real thing about wheelchairs is they keep you looking up.Says forests may be gorgeous but there’s nothing more alive than a tree that grows in a cemetery.And sometimes it’s the cup that’s half empty that fills the heart so full it could pull a bow above the strings of a combat boot and make it sing like God cutting loose on the dance floor of heaven. “[28]As always, best wishes. To each and every one of you.GeorgiaFeeding AmericaHow to Contact Your Elected Officials*Of course there are many wonderful charities you can donate to. Feeding America was simply my most recent donation. That being said, if you have any questions regarding the efficacy of charities in your area, I’d encourage you to search for them on Charity Navigator.This piece was originally published on the Left Brain Substack. If you enjoyed it, or appreciate Left Brain’s content in general, be sure to check it out :)

This is Lissa Bryan again, since Quora only allows one answer per question.Ona JudgeI thought Ona Judge’s story, mentioned by another poster, deserved its full attention.In 1848, one of the last living people enslaved by George Washington died. Her name was Ona Judge, and she managed to evade some pretty underhanded things Washington did to try to recapture her after she escaped to freedom.It's difficult for modern people to fully grasp the horrors of slavery. Today, when the concepts of rights, personal freedom, and autonomy are so deeply ingrained in our psyche, it's difficult to appreciate what a complete lack of them felt like. What it was like to be property, to legally be a "thing" instead of a person, to be used or abused at the whim of one's owners. Even "well-treated" slaves thirsted for their freedom, even when it meant they would struggle to survive after their escape.Ona Judge, or "Oney" as her owners called her, was born around 1774 on Mount Vernon, the plantation that belonged to the first United States President, George Washington. Ona's father was a white indentured tailor named Andrew Judge. Judge tutored the slaves in tailoring, and that's probably how he met Ona's mother. Judge sewed General Washington's uniforms, and after the term of his service was over, he took up farming about eleven miles away from Mount Vernon. After he left, he doesn't appear to have had any relationship with the three children he fathered during his time there, nor does it appear he ever officially acknowledged paternity. It would have mattered little if he did. In that era, a child held the same legal status as their mother.Ona's mother was a slave named Betty, who was given to Martha Washington through the estate of her first husband, Daniel Custis. Since Daniel died without a will, Martha inherited her dower rights to his estate, one-third of his property, for the term of her life. This included a large number of slaves, and Betty was one of them. These slaves legally belonged to the estate, though if they'd had a real desire to do so, the Washingtons could purchase the slave from the estate to free them. As the child of one of those "dower slaves", that meant Ona belonged to the Custis family, too.Ona was brought from the slave quarters to the mansion house around age ten, assigned to be a playmate/servant of Martha's granddaughter, Nelly Custis. Ona never had any education or religious instruction, but she did learn to become a skilled seamstress, probably taught by her mother when she was not needed by Nelly. It should be noted that Ona didn't play with Nelly by her own choice; she probably wasn't even asked if she wanted to play with her. She was ordered to, and so she did. The social gulf between the girls precluded any real friendship between them. Nelly appears to have had no interest in a relationship with Ona after reaching adulthood. She was discarded like Nelly's other childhood playthings, like her dolls.Ona was transferred as an adult to the service of Martha as a personal maid or body servant, helping her dress and attending her during social calls. Ona became one of Martha's favorite slaves.Like many favored servants of the era, Ona acquired a large wardrobe of her mistress's cast-off clothing, so she would look presentable when Martha made social calls to the other society ladies. As another mark of favor, Ona had her own room in the servant's quarters. She never complained afterward that she had been beaten or molested during her time with the Washingtons. But she didn't have one of the most important things of all: personhood.Martha brought Ona with her to Philadelphia - the temporary capital - after George became president. Ona was separated from her friends, her mother, her brother and sister, the only home she had ever known by this move. It probably never occurred to Martha to ask if Ona wanted to go. Ona belonged to Martha, just like her suitcase or her parrot, and would be sent wherever Martha wanted her.However, Pennsylvania had a law which freed any slaves who lived in the state for more than six months. The Washingtons were careful to ensure that their slaves were rotated back to Mount Vernon or other households on a regular basis so they never achieved the required legal residency.The president worried the public might realize what he was doing, and he needed “to have [the trips] accomplished under the pretext that may deceive both them [the slaves] and the public.” He told the slaves he was generously sending them home for a little vacation to visit their families. When that wasn't possible, the trips were disguised as visits Martha herself needed to undertake to friends. On one occasion in 1791, Martha took a trip of only three days' duration to New Jersey, just to avoid the slaves meeting their residency deadline.George was worried a bit about the slaves encountering free blacks in the city, fearing that contact with them would lead to his own servants becoming "insolent in the state of slavery." In that respect, he was right.... Ona yearned for freedom, and speaking with freed former slaves when she was out running errands for Martha only intensified that longing.In 1796, toward the end of Washington's presidency, Ona learned they were packing up to return to Virginia. Martha mentioned that she planned to give Ona as a wedding gift to her granddaughter, Elizabeth. Ona knew that she would never gain her freedom if that happened.It must have been a hard decision for her. She would never see her family again if she escaped, but then again, she'd never see them either, if the Washingtons went through with their plan to give her to Elizabeth, who would live with her husband in Washington DC. Ona also thought that Elizabeth was mean, and later said she was "determined never to be her slave."She sent her packed-up things to her friends in preparation, and then waited until the Washingtons were occupied with dinner before slipping out of the house. We can only imagine how those first few moments of freedom must have felt: terrifying, yet exhilarating.Martha Washington couldn't believe Ona would have left of her own accord, and insisted she must have been “seduced and enticed off" by a recent French visitor. George was incensed and bewildered. He couldn't understand why Ona would want to flee after having been treated so well."I am sorry to give you, or any one else trouble on such a trifling occasion, but the ingratitude of the girl, who was brought up and treated more like a child than a Servant (and Mrs Washington's desire to recover her) ought not to escape with impunity if it can be avoided."He had an ad placed in the newspaper, posting a reward for her return."Absconded from the household of the President of the United States, ONEY JUDGE, a light mulatto girl, much freckled, with very black eyes and bushy hair. She is of middle stature, slender, and delicately formed, about 20 years of age.She has many changes of good clothes, of all sorts, but they are not sufficiently recollected to be described—As there was no suspicion of her going off, nor no provocation to do so, it is not easy to conjecture whither she has gone, or fully, what her design is; but as she may attempt to escape by water, all masters of vessels are cautioned against admitting her into them, although it is probable she will attempt to pass for a free woman, and has, it is said, wherewithal to pay her passage.Ten dollars will be paid to any person who will bring her home, if taken in the city, or on board any vessel in the harbour;—and a reasonable additional sum if apprehended at, and brought from a greater distance, and in proportion to the distance."Ona never revealed exactly where she stayed during those first few weeks of her freedom, or how she accomplished the next leg of her journey. After all, repercussions could fall on the friends who had helped her. Somehow, she managed to board a ship called The Nancy, headed for New Hampshire. Its captain, John Bowles, was known to be sympathetic to escaping slaves. It's likely he simply looked the other way as she boarded.She probably thought herself safe once she'd reached New Hampshire. Ona searched for employment and began to settle into her new life. Her story might have ended there if a friend of Nelly Custis hadn't spotted her and written to report the whereabouts of Martha's escaped slave.George Washington was in a bit of a delicate situation, here. He was determined to get his wife's favorite slave - his "property" - back, but a good portion of his constituents despised slavery. Instead of making a public suit under the law, he asked the treasury secretary to find an agent to capture Ona and bring her back.The secretary contacted a customs agent, Joseph Whipple, and gave him the story Washington had told him: that poor Ona had been seduced and impregnated by the French visitor and had been lured off into poverty and desperate circumstances. Whipple tracked Ona down and booked passage on a ship to Philadelphia for himself and one woman. On the day of the sailing, he approached her with a fake job offer, intending to trick her aboard.Thankfully, Whipple was a good man, and he actually listened to what Ona had to say. He wrote back to the treasury secretary that "She had not been decoyed away as had been apprehended, but that a thirst for compleat freedom…had been her only motive for absconding."Whipple confessed his deception to her. Ona was understandably terrified, because she was a fugitive speaking to a US customs agent. When Ona calmed down, she told him that she had affection and respect for the Washingtons, and she would return to serve them for the rest of their lives, as long as they promised to free her upon their deaths.Whipple must have made some indication that could be arranged, because she was willing to board the ship with him, but the winds had changed and the ship could not sail that day. Whipple reported that by the next morning, her friends had talked her out of her willingness to leave. After all, she was trusting blindly in the Washingtons to release her without even having gotten a verbal promise from them directly. Whipple set sail the next day without her.Washington wrote back to Whipple."I regret that the attempt you made to restore the Girl (Oney Judge as she called herself while with us, and who, without the least provocation absconded from her Mistress) should have been attended with so little Success. To enter into such a compromise with her, as she suggested to you, is totally inadmissible, for reasons that must strike at first view: for however well-disposed I might be to a gradual abolition, or even to an entire emancipation of that description of People (if the latter was in itself practicable at this moment) it would neither be politic or just to reward unfaithfulness with a premature preference [of freedom]; and thereby discontent beforehand the minds of all her fellow-servants who by their steady attachments are far more deserving than herself of favor.”He said that he wanted Ona to return with no promises made. She would not be punished and would be treated the same as she always had been. He directed Whipple to try to catch her again, but only if it could be done without inciting any sort of violence or "public riot" of her friends. He'd rather forgo her services than stir up any negative public sentiment in the minds of "well-disposed citizens," meaning the white populace who were opposed to slavery.Whipple wrote back to him in January, 1797 that he had tracked Ona down once again and discovered that she was now married to a freeman sailor, John Stains, and it didn't appear he would be able to snatch her away or convince her to leave without causing a public stir. That appears to have ended Whipple's involvement in the matter.But Washington still wasn't giving up. Two years later, Martha's nephew took a trip to New Hampshire, and Washington asked him to find Ona. He found her a comfortably married woman with a new baby in her arms, though her husband was currently at sea. He asked her to return to Mount Vernon, and Ona refused, saying, "I am a free woman now, and I choose to remain so."The nephew confided that evening to his host that he intended to kidnap Ona and the baby - by force if necessary - and return them to Virginia. By odd coincidence, the host was the father of the woman who had written to Martha Washington to inform her of Ona's whereabouts. The host had been a long-time friend of the Washington family, but he was disquieted by this. He sent her a message to Ona that she needed to go into hiding. She did, and the nephew was forced to admit defeat.George Washington died a few months later, and Martha would follow him to the grave in 1802. Though she had seized her freedom, ownership of Ona and her children technically transferred to the Custis family at that point. But there's no indication they ever made any efforts to recover her.Ona's life was hard after that. Her husband died after only a few years, and she was a widow with three children. She supported her family as best she could through domestic work and her needle. She learned to read and write, and joined a local church. Her faith grew to be an important cornerstone of her life.She moved in with a free black family, the Jacks, comprised of two sisters and their widowed, elderly father. It appears to have been an arrangement of mutual support that suited both families well.Sadly, Ona outlived all three of her children. Her son, who followed in his father's footsteps and went to sea, never returned from a voyage and was presumed lost. Her two daughters died in the 1830s. Ona and the two Jacks sisters worked as domestics as late in life as they could, but as age set in, so did poverty. Many receipts still exist in the town archives for donations made to the three elderly women of money and firewood.In 1845, a reporter tracked her down and asked to interview the slave who had escaped George Washington. Ona was still technically a fugitive, but with her children now gone, she figured the Custis family heirs would not exert effort to recover such an elderly and infirm woman.Though her life was one of poverty and hardship, Ona said she wouldn't trade it for Mount Vernon and all of George Washington's honors if it meant losing her freedom."When asked if she is not sorry she left Washington, as she has labored so much harder since, than before, her reply is, "No, I am free, and have, I trust been made a child of God by the means."After the article came out, Ona received quite a few visitors who'd come to meet the ex-slave who'd escaped George Washington. She gave at least one more interview to abolitionist newspaper about her time as a slave and her desire for freedom above all earthly comforts. Visitors brought food and gifts that helped ease her living conditions.Ona died in Greenland, New Hampshire on February 25, 1848. Her burial site is uncertain, but it seems likely that she was interred in the Jacks family plot near the place where their cottage once stood. It's now an abandoned ruin, the stones crushed by falling trees.A poem was written about it in 1900, and the last verse reads:There's nothing left to tell the tale of daily strife,Of constant struggle, ending only with the life.They are all buried in a lonely, far-off spot,Away from human kind-a lonely pasture lot.Now let us leave this lovely, lonely, sacred dell.This answer originally appeared as an article I wrote for the History Geeks.The History Geeks