As we head into year three of the pandemic, what was once a shocking unknown has now become just another concerning and exhausting threat hanging overhead. This pandemic world looks different from the past, as everything from the cost of living to how we socialize has changed. Don't expect the change to stop anytime soon, either.
As the pandemic wears on, many governments are continuing to expand and enforce COVID-19 related mandates and restrictions. For some, this is an acceptable, yet frustrating new status quo in a world learning to cope with COVID-19. For others, this is an unacceptable new reality that is cause for great restlessness and public demonstration.
Where do you and your neighbors land on this spectrum? The answer seems to have a lot to do with the level of restriction imposed by your government and the existing cultural ideals of your region.
For instance, across Europe we are seeing many governments cracking down on the unvaccinated by imposing restrictions that make simply existing in urban society difficult. In France, the tactic of the day seems to be frustrating the unvaccinated into compliance by restricting their access to a variety of everyday resources without proof of vaccination. Of this, French President Macron says, "I'm not going to put them in jail, I'm not going to forcibly vaccinate them, and so, you have to tell them: From January 15, you will no longer be able to go to the restaurant, you will no longer be able to have a drink, go for a coffee, to the theater, you will no longer go to the movies."
Though espousing his position as a moderate response, President Macron has also spoken further about the unvaccinated, saying: "When my freedom threatens that of others, I become irresponsible – An irresponsible person is no longer a citizen." It is this kind of divisive mindset that has many, vaccinated and unvaccinated alike, concerned about the increasingly restrictive behavior of certain governments worldwide.
Rather than continuing to simply debate about the moral implications of personally choosing to be vaccinated or not, the tides of conversation have shifted beyond discussing individual rights to now encompass concerns about gross government overreach in all regards. The issue has raised more public outcry than ever before, leading to new petitions and protests the world over.
But its not just restrictive and discriminatory governments that have citizens crying out for change - it's the oppressive inflation and ever widening gap between the haves and have nots that has grown during the pandemic too. According to Oxfam, between March 2020 and November 2021, the 10 richest men worldwide have more than doubled their collective wealth from $700 billion to $1.5 trillion. According to Oxfam's Chief Executive Danny Sriskandarajah, “What's happening is off the scale. There's been a new billionaire created almost every day during this pandemic, meanwhile 99% of the world's population are worse off because of lockdowns, lower international trade, less international tourism, and as a result of that, 160 million more people have been pushed into poverty."
Is this really shocking though? The impact of the pandemic's rising inflation and stagnant wages is widely felt across the USA. As of October 2021, the US annual rate of inflation reached 6.2% as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) – the highest in more than three decades. Consumers feel the inflation every time they get groceries or fill up the tank.
The blow to consumer budgets caused by inflation would not feel so strong if wages had risen at the same rate, but real wage increases have remained largely stagnant for years. In fact, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, from December 2020 to December 2021 alone inflation-adjusted average hourly earnings fell 2.4%.
But what does it really look like in the DMV area? It's a tad better off than the rest of the country. In the DMV, inflation increased 5.8% as measured by the CPI-U – the greatest increase since December 1990. Conversely, a win for DC residents was an increase in minimum wage to $15.20/hour in 2021 for non-tipped workers. Also, as of September 2021, there has been a 4.7% gain in wages and salaries overall. So what does this mean? While still not sufficiently matching increases in inflation, at least the DC area is trying to protect workers a little more than the majority of the country.
Yet most companies are making progress begrudgingly. Both in the DMV and across the US, many employers are complaining that they have positions standing unfilled. Many believe that this is due to the laziness of US workers and do not realize that it is due instead to their refusal to offer competitive wages that meet a livable standard. These employers' assumptions about US workers are unsupported by data. This is further proven by popular DC companies like Medium Rare Restaurant, who by offering fair wages and good working conditions, has suffered no staffing issues in an industry bleeding employees right now.
Overall, these shining examples of positive business practices and fair wages are few and far between. Across the country it is far more common to find employee mistreatment and severely unbalanced inflation. It is therefore no surprise when citizens begin to question and protest against a controlling government that is continuing to put pressure on the working class and fail to solve real issues. What else can leaders expect?