The researchers can’t yet tell what happened to these workers’ finances in September. If the $600 checks created something of a life preserver for jobless workers — protecting them for a time from Washington’s political dysfunction — that life preserver deflated quickly, Professor Ganong said. He has to find a job he can do remotely because of his lingering health problems, he said. And to do any remote work, he had to replace a computer that stopped working this summer. Now, without the extra federal payments, he’s receiving just $180 a week from the state of New York.

Source: New York Times October 16, 2020 18:00 UTC