Title: How Covid-19 post-recovery plans can tackle poverty and address economic inequality in the USA

Authors: Lena Simet

Addresses: Human Rights Watch, 350 5th Ave 34th floor, New York, NY 10118, USA

Abstract: The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the stark economic inequality in the USA, where those with lower incomes were likelier to catch the virus or suffer income loss due to lockdowns and other containment measures. This article describes the unequal impact of Covid-19 amidst high inequality and identifies priorities for a human rights centred recovery. It does so by drawing lessons from the recovery efforts of the Great Recession of 2008, which placed Wall Street's well-being above people's rights and failed to consider structural inequalities. A post-recovery agenda in line with human rights means investing in people, social infrastructure and social protection. It means empowering workers, ensuring decent jobs, and a strong commitment to addressing structural inequities based on ecological and economic justice principles.

Keywords: economic inequality; poverty; Covid-19; social protection; human rights; austerity; economic crisis; public budgets.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPLAP.2020.114806

International Journal of Public Law and Policy, 2020 Vol.6 No.4, pp.368 - 389

Received: 12 Oct 2020
Accepted: 17 Nov 2020
Published online: 06 May 2021 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article