As the government has withdrawn pandemic-related financial support, rising numbers of people are reporting going without adequate food or falling behind on rent and other bills.
Without action, "the short-term impact is going to be more economic deprivation," says James Sullivan, LEO co-founder and economics professor at the University of Notre Dame, whose research has found that roughly 7 million people have fallen into poverty since May, many of them African American, children, and those without university degrees. "There's a clear need for government support."