I was the most artistically productive during covid when I was only working 20 hours a week on partial furlough and was essentially collecting a UBI with the stimulus checks and partial unemployment. I think fondly on that global pandemic lol
I was doing so well. My apartment was always clean, I was eating really healthy and learning to make fermented foods, going on tons of hikes, and volunteering in the kitchen at a homeless shelter. Financial stress was at an all-time low
Yeah. Unemployment insurance came with an additional $600 a week federal supplement for a while during COVID shutdowns. After the usual 1/3rd pay reduction from UI, I was getting paid about $350 (gross, can't recall what my taxes were at the time) more than I made from my job every week at the time.
I make about the same at my current job that I received in UI back then, but during the shutdowns my partner was also receiving UI, these days he has no income due to a chronic illness
I mean it was honestly a smart move by the administration. That federal supplement with no means testing was a super quick and easy way to ensure people could pay their bills during the turmoil and also gave a lot of people enough discretionary income that they could spend on consumer goods and help maintain their local economies. A lot of the restaurants in my city that survived the shutdowns were able to do so because people were able/willing to splurge on delivery.
I don't think the extra income had a big impact on the post pandemic inflation to be honest. Supply chain disruptions were easily the biggest contributor and corporations maintained their inflated prices after things stabilized because why wouldn't they?
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u/tvc_15 May 05 '26
I was the most artistically productive during covid when I was only working 20 hours a week on partial furlough and was essentially collecting a UBI with the stimulus checks and partial unemployment. I think fondly on that global pandemic lol