Faces Of The Coronavirus Economy

On today's show, we were joined by our favorite finance experts Michelle Singletary and Rana Foroohar to check in on our country’s economy, seven months into the pandemic.

And whenever we talk to those two, we’re reminded that the struggles of the COVID economy aren’t just about the numbers. It’s also about the lived experiences.

Below, we hear two stories about the economic impact of the pandemic.

Latrish Oseko lives in Newark, Delaware with her boyfriend and their 4-year-old daughter. Before the pandemic, she worked as a contractor doing data entry, while her boyfriend worked a full-time and part-time job to make ends meet. But when the pandemic hit, things quickly changed — starting with losing their jobs. "I just feel so alone in this world, and it's still not over with this virus," she says. "I'm just praying we continue to get through it."

Erin Bailey is a single mom with four children. She lives in West Palm Beach, Florida. Before the pandemic started, she says she was doing well. She had started her own business, and even had gotten business cards and begun to advertise her business online. But then the pandemic hit. "Once the quarantine started people didn't want anyone around," she says. "And also it would be hard because the schools had closed, which is my child care. So finding someone to watch the kids was really impossible."