With unemployment skyrocketing to almost 15 . Job losses are concentrated at the lorain end of the income scale. By early april, anastonishing amount have been furloughed or layoff. The poor are less likely to have insurance and more likely to live in close quarters where the disease is easy to spread. Its been said that covid is like a guided missile attacking the poor. We will discuss what we as a nation can do to help. Joining me now, cochairman of the Poor Peoples Campaign and author of the forthcoming book, we are called to be a movement. This issue of poverty predates the covid19 pandemic. How has it made it worse . Well the fact of the matter is, pandemics exploit and live in the fissures and in the wounds of society, and in america, we have great wounds when it comes to systemic racism and poverty. Two things that you can never separate, even though we have the look at it across the board and how it impacts everybody. Before the pandemic, we had 140 Million People who were poor and low income. Poverty under the census of 38 million, but in actual numbers if you look at poverty and low income, its 140 Million People. Thats 43 of this nation. 700 people a day were dying from poverty and low income according to a study from columbia and the pandemic hits and now, we have 13 million more people added to that. Poverty will rise exponentially, making it as high as 50 or plus in the society. What made it worse is we have had three major rescue bill and none of them have focused specifically on poverty and low income. The 140 Million People who are already in problems before the pandemic hit. Yeah, and as you know, bishop barber, a group that was hit hard by the economic fallout is Small Farmers. Many of them are already struggling before the pandemic hit as you said and now, who face plummeting demand for the product, from closed restaurants, hotels and schools. As a fourth generation farmer in southeastern kansas, mark pringle raises grain, corn, soybeans and cattle, along side his wife, and his 90yearold father lauren. My husband mark pringle working away. Pringle has been farming full time since 2015. When he came home to the family business, to help care for his parents. Its just the three of them, and the pringle family like many Small Farmers already deal with the challenges and significant financial hardships that often come with the running of a small farm. We faces a number of challenges including poverty, longterm survival, and those are due to the low prices we received for our products. Even more alarming, kansas farmers die by suicide at a rate much higher than the national average. Something pringles wife, mary jane, testified about in a poor Peoples Forum in 2018. Why . Because they are stressed out. They are stressed out, they are usually in debt up to their eyeballs because they cant pay for all the equipment that it takes to run a farm. Now, the covid19 pandemic is hitting the already vulnerable Farmer Industry particularly hard. And farmers like the pringle family are now facing even more economic uncertainty. The outbreak of the covid19 virus only exacerbates the issues we are facing. Fallout from the issue has impacted the familys overall income. Prices are down, and covid19 is changed the demand for the Farm Products they produce. The cattle industry, which the pringle family is also part of, is expected to see losses of more than 13. 6 billion due to the pandemic. And the demand for beef has dropped. And beyond the economic strain that comes with running a small farm. For the pringles, the pandemic has further exposed the glaring barriers to getting Adequate Health care in a small rural town. Mary jane is a retired registered nurse and she said the nearest hospital is 30 minutes away. We have one clinic and one doctor in our county. The Trump Administration has announced plans to spend up to 19 billion to help farmers. The white houses failure to coordinator the National Food supply has left farmers with millions pounds of food that they can no longer sell to closed restaurants and hoeltss. When it comes to getting relief, the government help in addressing the debt that farmers face would take off a huge load. They hope federal bailouts does not focus on bigger farming operations like they have in the past. If the government remembers the smaller farmers and ranchers that are struggling and hurting more now. Mary jane and mark pringle join us now. And mary jane and mark, thank you so much, not only for being here, but for sharing your story with us. And i will start with you, mary jane. Because the, you know, the thing that was the most striking is the idea that farmers are dying by suicide at the high rates because of the depression that is associated with the struggle. Talk a little bit more about that. Well, farmers on the land here, they are here for generations, and they dont want to be the one that loses the family farm. They dont want to be known as bad, its a big stigma to have to sell land to help get out of debt. Everyone knows everyones business. So they dont want to be the one that loses the family farm. Theres pressure to hold on to the land for the next generation. And they see that slipping away every day. My fatherinlaw who is 90 said it took him 70 years to get to where he is right now. And he is 90. So, a lot of farmers dont have the good luck that he has had, or you know, theres been certain things that, he doesnt have many grandchildren, we dont have children. Theres reasons that we are semiokay right now, but theres others who really arent okay and thats why the suicide rate, theres a lot of stress on the guys. They dont talk much, they internalize. Yeah. Yeah, and you know, and mark, can you talk a little bit about, how have thing thes changed for you for your family farm since the pandemic has struck . Its been mainly an impact as far as demand obviously the prices are down across the board for our commodities the grain and the cattle. And the grain in particular is, is very far down price wise in relation to where it had been years ago. And so, you have got that whole problem with the Food Supply Chain being affected. So, its like a domino affect. Especially given the fact that theres a dominance of the large agrabusinesses in the country, pertaining to the meat packing plants and the use of the commodities for feed, livestock feed and so it ripples down from the point of impact. And so, that means you have to find a way to farm another day in many respects. Theres a myriad of different aspects that you try to do to help yourself do that. What would help you the most . Better insurance. People need insurance. A lot of these farmers dont have insurance. Or if they do, its a junk insurance. You know, our kansas is one of the 14 states that does not have medicaid expansion. We have been trying for six years to get that. And its been thrown back in our face for the last six years and we need insurance so that we can go to the doctors to get our health needs met. And mental health, the state recently started up a new hotline that they had quit for farmers for suicide and they recently started it up. And theres a reason that they did that. Yeah. Indeed, well, mark and mary jane, thank you so much for talking with us, but before we let you go, we have a very special message to share with you. Here it is. Hey, mark and mary jane, this is wily. I want to thank all of yall, and all of the other small family farmers out there for the work that you are doing. You are essential, and as important as Health Care Providers and the store workers. So, you mean everything in this pandemic. So, please, keep on doing what you are doing. Willie nelson, sending you some love, mary jane and mark pringle. Thank you. You seem to have enjoyed that. Thank you very much, i appreciate you both. Thank you, joy. Thank you very much. Thank you. Bishop barber is sticking around, and coming up, we will introduce you to two women who are risking their lives at work just to survive at home. All strength we aint stoppin believe me go straight till the morning look like we wont wait were taking everything we wanted we can do it all strength, no sweat 49i found you good job. Now im gonna stay here and you go hide. Watch your favorites from anywhere in the house with the Xfinity Stream app. Free with your xfinity service. Now any room can be a tv room. Stream live tv, on demand shows and movies even your dvr recordings. Download the Xfinity Stream app today to stream the entertainment you love. Xfinity. The future of awesome. The federal minimum wage has been stuck at 7. 25 an hour for more than a decade, and even workers that make slightly more than that are struggling. Especially many fast food employees. Who are fighting for better pay and safer working conditions during the pandemic. One of the largest employers being accused of neglecting the safety of its workers during the pandemic is fast food giant mcdonalds, some workers have been walking off the job to demand better pay and safer working conditions. Im a worker for mcdonalds, ive been with the company for over three, four years i demand paid timeoff and im afraid for my life. And my kidss life as well. This woman lives with her four children and 9 month old grandson. After participating in a oneday strike, they eventually went back to work in order to provide for them and avoid becoming homeless again. And at one point, the family, said lived in a car. Mcdonalds fast food workers make 8. 96 an hour on average. And managers make a little more. 11. 43 an hour and while the Company Reported a 17 drop in earnings for the First Quarter of this year due to store closures, mcdonalds cfo reported 5 billion in cash on the companys Balance Sheet as of march, on top of working at mcdonalds, beatrice works at wendys and papa johns and said, even with the three jobs she still doesnt make enough to pay her rent and bills. To make matters worse, she felt she was retaliated against when a close Family Member passed away from covid19. So, yes, my hours was taken. My days was taken. Only because i asked for two weeks to get quarantined because of the situation. In maine, mindi bergerone lawrences th has been working a mcdonalds for 7 years. She rents an apartment, but because she cannot afford a car, she had walks 40 minutes to and from work each day. I dont have a vehicle, i cannot afford one. When im able, and the weather is all right in the summer, and what not, i walk or ride my bike. She considers herself among the luck will y ones because thr provided enough protective gear. The owner provided four hours to the paychecks of workers who have continued to work during the pandemic. But she said, the fact that theres no sick pay, is a major issue. When mindi experienced sump toms of covid19, she said she was not able to work for a week. The wall street journal obtained a memo that mcdonalds sent to its franchisees, about reopening the dining rooms. To protect the health of the workers, mcdonalds said employees should undergo wellness and temperature checks. One of the biggest concerns is how easily germs can spread near the soda fountain, that is difficult to clean. Mcdonalds suggests turning them off or have an employee operate them. Surfaces such as counters, credit card machines and door handles should be wiped down every 30 minutes. But are the guidelines enough for workers like these . Who worry that returning to business as usual could mean risking their health. Joining me now, mcdonalds employees, mindi Bergeron Lawrence and deatrice eddie and massachusetts congressman, jochen didjo joe kennedy, iii, before i ask you a couple of questions i wanted to let you know that we reached out to the operating companies of the locations. Here are the statements they provided. This is the florida mcdonalds locations, we paid any employee full wages until they were returned to work. And no employee is required to cop to work if they are not feeling well and no wages or hours have been cut based on when an employee decides to come back to work. And we follow the guidelines on of the cdc and Public Health experts to evolve the safety protocols in our restaurants and paying our employees bonuses and providing the employees with sanitizing supplies, and are committed to paying paid leave to any employee impacted. Had to read that. So i want to go to you first, diatrice, talk about the experience of working multiple jobs. Of living with the kind of economic insecurity that you are, despite working for such a Major Corporation . Its very hard. I have to maintain three jobs. Not just three jobs, i have to maintain coming home to the kids. Its very hard. Its not enough money, and all three jobs im a manager. And im making 8. You know, and yeah. Its hard because when you ask for time off, its a problem. Or if you dont come to work, you are suspended for two weeks or you are fired and i think that thats very sad on us. Because we work generally hard. We work hard and they dont recognize our work. Even with the pandemic going on right now hmmm . Go on. Oh, my mcdonalds never shut the doors. They never closed down. My mcdonalds stayed open 24 hours, whether it was supposed to be shut down or anything, it did not get shut down. So, definitely i was afraid for my life. People was walking in with no gloves. People was sitting in the lobby, they didnt care. They didnt care at all. Yeah, and i guess, the question is to both of you and i will ask you, mindi, what happens if you feel sick . Do you feel pressure that if you are not feeling well, if you feel like, you know, maybe i have a temperature, maybe i have a cough. Some of the things that indicate potential covid. Do you feel pressure to go to work . Well, i mean, from like, sorry, they are stressing the idea that if we dont feel well, we should not go to work. But, you know, when you dont get paid sick leave that, you know, it doesnt feel like a choice. You know, if you dont go to work, you dont get paid. So, theres a lot of pressure on that end to go to work sick. Yeah. And you know, congressman kennedy and your family has a direct connection to the Poor Peoples Campaign. So, you know, its really great that we have you here. Of course, robert f. Kennedy the attorney general at the time was one of the people who inspired the idea of doing this. What can and should be done to change this . Because the idea that this many years later, this many decades later, we are still really having this conversation about the working poor. Its just disspiriting. What can be done about it . Everything, joy, everything needs to be done. And im honored to be here, obviously with two workers here. And i think, a critical piece to this is understanding not only that yes, clearly mcdonalds and the operators in charge of the franchises have to provide paid sick time and required ppe and sanitize the stores and all of it. That should happen, but lets understand what they articulated, you are getting paid . 30 over minimum wage and you cannot afford a roof over your head, that is a choice of the government, when you are not getting paid sick leave, that is a choice of the government to not require paid sick leave. The government is allowing jobs that do not provide enough resources for someone to raise a family. Theres still people working full time and qualified for food stamps. That is a choice of our government, not for welfare, but for corporate welfare to enable companies to pay employees so little that they have to rely on benefits in order to make ends meet. That is a choice. And we do not have to choose that. Yeah, indeed. Well, i thank you for being here to address these issues and especially thank you, mindi, and diatrice and joe kennedy. And coming up a look at the historic job loss. Tada did you know Liberty Mutual customizes your Car Insurance so you only pay for what you need . Given my unique lifestyle, thatd be perfect let me grab a pen and some paper. Know what . Im gonna switch now. Just need my desk. Is6. The covid19 pandemic has not only devastated the economic livelihood of millions americans in every corner of our country, it has eroded part of president obamas economic legacy too. The United States has been experiencing record levels of unemployment, not seen since the great depression. Before the pandemic, the Unemployment Rate was a mere3. 5 . The race more than tripled in april and currently sits at 13. 3 in may. Unfortunately, thats not the whole story. The bureau of labor statistics said that without major Data Collection errors the may rate would be a whopping 16. 3 . This is biggest economic shock in the u. S. And in the world really, in living memory. We went from the lowest level of unemployment in 50 years to the highest level in closes to 90 years and we did it in two months. And in Donald Trumps reality, its a fluke in an economy that is solely responsible. I built the greatest economy in the history of the world, and one day, because of something that never should have been allowed to happen. We had to closes the country. We had to close the economy. I built it. Trump merely continued the trajectory that began under his predecessor. When president obama moved in to the white house, he inherited a economy in at that titatters. It was 8. 8 million americans that lost their job. To bring the economy back, president obama signed the act that poured money back in to states and agreed to continue the bail out of the banks that began with president bush. When i ran for president , i promised i would not just do what was popular. I would do what is necessary. The recovery act pumped fuel in the economy, prompting ten years of economic expansion. The longest period of uninterrupted prosperity. The federal governments bail out of the Auto Industry saved four million american jobs and his signature achievement, the Affordable Care act, in addition to expanding health care to 20 million americans boosted the share of the tax income by 10 of the poorest economy by a fifth. From 2010 to the end of the obama administration, the u. S. Economy a