Letter: How Can Unemployed Support Businesses?

 

Kentucky Chamber President and CEO Ashli Watts wrote in an op-ed on Monday about Kentucky businesses helping during the early days of the coronavirus-forced shutdown, calling on Kentuckians to step up now and support those businesses as customers.

 

But with about a third of Kentucky unemployed and so many not receiving their unemployment benefits in a timely manner, how are we supposed to support these businesses?

 

Those who were already struggling are struggling even more now. According to Feeding Kentucky, their member food banks were already feeding 1 in 7 Kentuckians before this pandemic hit.

According to the Homeless & Housing Coalition of Kentucky, nearly 160,000 households in Kentucky were extremely low income, and of these 66% were paying more than half of their income on rent and utilities.

 

These are the households most likely to have lost jobs or to work on the front lines at grocery stores and other essential businesses. 

 

I call on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to lead in passing a relief bill that targets these urgent needs for our most vulnerable fellow Kentuckians.