US government spending on food assistance to the public increased by almost 50 percent in FY2020 (ended September 30). They spent $ 90 billion on it, the Rolitico newspaper writes.
The number of Americans receiving Food Stamps for the Poor has increased by 20 percent over the year (from 36 million to 44 million). On average, each program participant received a coupon worth $ 161 each month. Due to the pandemic, the incomes of millions of Americans have been severely reduced, many have lost their jobs. An average of 900,000 Americans apply for unemployment benefits every week.
The damage to the United States from the coronavirus pandemic is estimated at $ 16 trillion, former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said earlier. About half of this amount is associated with GDP losses as a result of quarantines and the suspension of the work of some sectors of the economy.
The US economy in the third quarter of last year grew by a record 33.1 percent in annual terms (and 7.4 in the quarter). However, the coronavirus pandemic remains a threat to further economic recovery. In the first quarter of last year, the country’s GDP fell by five percent, and in the second quarter – by a record 31.4 percent.