MESSAGE
| DATE | 2020-12-29 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
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| SUBJECT | Subject: [Hangout - NYLXS] COVID - the Rich get richer and leave the city
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wsj.com
Covid-19 Deals Different Hands for Family Finances
WSJ Staff
13-17 minutes
There’s no single Covid-19 economy. There are a thousand.
For many workers who have kept their jobs and can work from home,
coronavirus has been a surprising financial boon. They are saving money
on commuting, eating out and vacations, and enjoying a sky-high stock
market.
In the uneasy middle, people are trying to hold on to some semblance of
their old lives. Parents are shelling out for care for kids who normally
would be in school. Laid-off workers are branching into gig jobs.
Restaurant owners are trying to stay afloat on takeout orders.
Life is most fragile for those at the bottom of the pyramid. Many are
being kept afloat by unemployment benefits and a federal eviction
moratorium. The new stimulus bill extended those benefits, but many
families are worried about what comes next.
Here’s a look at how the coronavirus recession has played out for three
families.
Andy and Ken Mallon at their newly purchased vacation home in Rockland,
Maine. Andy, left, said he sold stock to cover the down payment.
Photo: Yoon S. Byun for The Wall Street Journal
Andy Mallon
Andy and Ken Mallon closed on a vacation home last month, an 1859
farmhouse in Maine. They loved the 6-foot-tall windows and hardwood
floors, and figured they could replace the greasy electric stove.
The Mallons, who live in Medford, Mass., started talking seriously about
buying a vacation home after the pandemic hit and zeroed in on Rockland,
Maine, about three hours away. Ken’s parents live nearby, and Andy has
fond memories of vacationing in northern New England as a child. The
nearby downtown, in non-pandemic times, is vibrant with restaurants and
coffee shops.
A coronavirus boost to their finances helped. Andy, 38 years old, is a
data architect at a website that sells home goods, and part of his
salary includes company stock. With more people stuck at home and having
time on their hands to redecorate, the stock has shot up.
The Mallons, who live in Medford, Mass., plan to spend most of their
time at their new Maine property in the months ahead.
Photo: Yoon S. Byun for The Wall Street Journal
Andy Mallon painted the guest room in his Maine vacation home last week.
He considers himself fortunate compared with those who are struggling
financially.
Photo: Yoon S. Byun for The Wall Street Journal
The couple made three day trips to Rockland to look at homes. They got
outbid on one; so when they found the two-bedroom farmhouse, they
decided to be aggressive. On the drive back to Massachusetts, they
called their real-estate agent and offered $345,000, or $3,000 above the
asking price. Andy sold some of his stock to cover the 20% down payment.
Home prices plunged in the previous recession, but they have surged this
year, with wealthier families buying second homes or trading up to new
houses with more space. The median existing-home price was $310,800 in
November, up from about $266,200 in January, according to the National
Association of Realtors.
Andy and Ken, an executive assistant at a financial firm, have been
working remotely since spring. Without commuting, work lunches and other
expenses, they have been saving about $1,000 a month. Both have been
told that they won’t return to the office until at least the summer, so
they plan to spend most of their time in Maine until then.
The Mallons, in Rockland this month, figure they have been saving an
extra $1,000 a month without commuting costs and the like.
Photo: Yoon S. Byun for The Wall Street Journal
The Mallons have been using their extra time to spruce up their new
house and their extra savings to buy furniture and appliances. They
researched 19th-century wall colors and commissioned a table made of
reclaimed lumber.
“We’re very aware of ‘Yeah we’re doing great, we bought a vacation
home…our biggest trouble is that we can’t go out to dinner,’ ” Andy
said. “There are plenty of people who are having a really sh—tty pandemic.”
—By AnnaMaria Andriotis
After her former work dried up, Melina Rodriguez decided to start a
day-care center in Miami.
Photo: Maria Alejandra Cardona for The Wall Street Journal
Melina Rodriguez
Melina Rodriguez had been out of work for months, with the U.S. deep
into the coronavirus pandemic, when she had an outlandish idea: It was
time to launch a business.
Ms. Rodriguez wanted to open a day care and preschool, and she
approached her mother for her opinion. “I thought she was going to say,
‘You’re crazy. This is not the time,’ ” said Ms. Rodriguez, who lives in
Miami. “But she said, ‘Why not?’”
In truth, there were plenty of reasons not to. Child care is a difficult
business even in good times, with high fixed costs and thin profit
margins. Many parents have pulled their kids out during the pandemic.
But Ms. Rodriguez also knew she had to reinvent herself, regardless of
whether the economy was crashing. When the pandemic hit, she was
teaching dance, gymnastics and cheerleading at different preschools. Her
work dried up overnight.
Melina Rodriguez said she knows many day-care centers have gone out of
business this year, but hopes that means there will be more room for
hers to blossom.
Photo: Maria Alejandra Cardona for The Wall Street Journal
Melania with the family’s new puppy. Her father’s business customizing
cars and motorcycles has held up well during the pandemic.
Photo: MARIA ALEJANDRA CARDONA for The Wall Street Journal
For Ms. Rodriguez, 29, being stuck at home gave her time to think about
what she wanted to do next. She knows that many day cares have gone out
of business this year, though she hopes that means there will be more
room for her center to blossom.
“At the end of the day, parents still have to work,” she said.
The day care and preschool, which Ms. Rodriguez named First Launch
Preparatory, is a family affair. Her mom, Alina Rodriguez, lent her
money for startup costs. When they leased a building in October, Ms.
Rodriguez and her husband, Jose Fernandez, spent evenings there, often
until 1 a.m., installing new walls, ceilings and bathrooms. Her brother,
Javier Rodriguez, pitched in with babysitting her two children: Mason, a
sixth-grader, and Melania, a kindergartner, who are remote learning this
year.
Without Ms. Rodriguez’s paycheck, their family income is down by about a
third. Mr. Fernandez’s shop, which customizes cars and motorcycles, has
enjoyed lively demand, though it has been difficult to get supplies.
The whole family is pitching in to help start the new day care and
preschool.
Photo: Maria Alejandra Cardona for The Wall Street Journal
Supplies have been a problem for Ms. Rodriguez, too. It recently took
four weeks to get a shipment of three child-size tables. For now, she is
setting up classrooms, interviewing potential hires and waiting for her
state license. Once she gets it, she will start enrolling students.
Sometimes, when she is at the center, neighbors will wander by and ask
when she is opening. Ms. Rodriguez takes that as a good sign.
“I think it will be hard at first, but I’m hopeful it will get better,”
she said. “We’re very positive that it will work out.”
—By Christina Rexrode
Maria Patton moved to Tennessee after she lost her job as a nanny in Los
Angeles.
Photo: William DeShazer for The Wall Street Journal
Maria Patton
Maria Patton and her son, Aaron Reed, drive around the Nashville suburbs
in the evening, looking for a safe place to park. When they do, they
lean back the front seats of their Nissan Kicks and try to sleep, but
Ms. Patton spends most of the night awake.
She worries about being attacked, about falling temperatures, about the
few dollars remaining in her bank account.
“It makes you feel like an animal,” said Ms. Patton, 55.
This time last year, their lives looked different. Ms. Patton was
working in Los Angeles as a nanny and getting her life back in order
after a divorce. Aaron, who has Asperger syndrome, was making friends at
school.
Then in March, she got laid off. She struggled to find a new job, but
the additional $600 in weekly unemployment benefits from the Cares Act
in March kept her afloat.
When those expanded benefits were reduced, Ms. Patton and Aaron, who is
now 18, drove the Nissan to Tennessee—where Ms. Patton is from and
where, she thought, it might be easier to find help.
Maria Patton and her son were able to spend a few nights recently at a
hotel in Brentwood, Tenn.—a Christmas gift from her ex-husband.
Photo: William DeShazer for The Wall Street Journal
They spent a few months in an extended-stay motel, then moved into the
car in November. Aaron pawned his Nintendo and TV for about $100.
The vehicle has become both their greatest asset and liability, the only
thing between them and living on the street. Ms. Patton can no longer
afford the $552 monthly payment. Her lender, Exeter Finance Corp.,
agreed this month to defer her payments, which carry an interest rate of
28%, for two months.
She also owes more than $600 in cellphone bills and fears her service
will be cut off.
Ms. Patton had been getting $337 in weekly unemployment from California,
though her payments were put on hold earlier this month. She had been
counting on them to cover car insurance, gas, her cellphone bill and
prescription medication.
Maria Patton said having to live the way she does ‘makes you feel like
an animal.’
Photo: William DeShazer for The Wall Street Journal
California’s Employment Development Department said it had been in touch
with Ms. Patton to ensure the issue is resolved.
Ms. Patton has been offered another job as a nanny in Denver that begins
in mid-January but can’t afford to make the trip. She started a GoFundMe
page but hadn’t received many donations.
During the day, Ms. Patton scours job listings, applying to grocery and
department stores with no luck. She and Aaron go for walks or to the
park. Sometimes, she finds a friendly person on Facebook who will let
them come over to shower. Most of the time, they use washcloths.
“Watching my child live like this is the worst thing I could ever
imagine,” Ms. Patton said. “And it feels like there’s no end in sight.”
—By Orla McCaffrey
--
So many immigrant groups have swept through our town
that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological
proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998
http://www.mrbrklyn.com
DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI Safir 2002
http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software
http://www.brooklyn-living.com
Being so tracked is for FARM ANIMALS and extermination camps,
but incompatible with living as a free human being. -RI Safir 2013
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