As millions of Americans end up with 2020 sickness, unemployment, hunger, debt, or at risk of losing their homes, it is unthinkable on the other side of the spectrum, the rich, protected from much of this deficiency, become even richer in this perilous year. But this is the reality of 2020. The same forces that made this year so bad for so many people have helped a few people add so much wealth.
As many as 20 million people have received unemployment benefits and Congress has delayed the passage of the second round of incentives, America’s billionaires rose to $ 931 billion in the fall – more than the whole economy of the Netherlands. This distinction emphasizes the importance of financial, political, and organizational structures built to benefit those who have more, even in times of widespread loss, and to put aside what is not.
People with money, assets, and commodities saw their economy and savings increase this year while those excluded from the year of stock market sales were largely left in dire straits; some technology companies are forced to pay low-cost employment contracts of their sick or injured employees, and the widespread decline of small businesses has boosted the growth of competitors and increased access to assets and capital.
The right structures, meanwhile, almost ensure that the benefits of any financial recovery next year are still unevenly distributed without any deliberate intervention. All the riches that the richest, most important affairs experience do not lose sight of the other side.
Think, for example, of who has benefited from the pandemic so far and who has lost. It’s hard to imagine companies delivering food when their business partners – restaurants – are hanging on to a thread, but that’s how things were shaken. Service providers such as Grubhub and DoorDash have seen a huge surge in demand, as rental orders issued across the country and hospitals have been forced to close or restrict meals internally. Local small restaurants struggling to survive the disease turned to these services as a lifeline, even though commissions and numerous commissions for instructions given on these foundations were unpaid. The company is not profitable, but its revenue has more than tripled in the first nine months of 2020 compared to the same period last year. This move led to the success of DoorDash’s IPO this month, generating billions for operators including CEO Tony Xu. DoorDash recorded $ 102 on December 9th and ended the day with such an allowance up 85%. With this storm hitting Wall Street, 100,000 small businesses have long since closed.
In the first nine months of the year, as local businesses across the country ceased operations, Amazon’s profits increased roughly 70% to $ 14.1 billion. The rise in the company’s share price, which has nearly doubled since March, has helped CEO Jeff Bezos jump $ 74 billion this year to nearly $ 190 billion. Meanwhile, around 20,000 Amazon employees have tested positive for COVID-19 and thousands of workers protested for higher wages, paid sick leave, and better protection during the pandemic. The company said it spent $ 750 million on additional pay for its forward employees, $ 500 million on thanks earlier this year, and established a $ 25 million grant for existing employees. and financial or quarantine difficulties. Bezos also made donations this year, including $ 791 million to combat climate change, and $ 100 million to Feed America.
