The Pandemic Economy and the Rise of the âNoxious Contractâ America must do right by the people who have risked their lives during the pandemic. Hereâs how. By David Grusky Dr. Grusky is a sociologist at Stanford University and a principal investigator for the American Voices Project, a national study of the ongoing crisis brought on by the coronavirus. March 9, 2021 Credit...Emily Elconin/Reuters For far too many American workers, the pandemic has delivered a one-two punch of hardship. The American Voices Project, a national study of the ongoing crisis brought on by the coronavirus, recently interviewed a 26-year-old essential worker about the pandemicâs first punch: âI was working at a gas station, bringing home enough to get me by,â she said. âAnd then the Corona hit, my hours got cut, I was only working one or two days, sometimes no days, and then I was out of a job. It literally was hell ⦠I was suffocating in bills.â