Poverty Stalks US Middle Class Amid Pandemic

Bethesda, United States, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Oct, 2020 ) :As the Covid-19 pandemic swept the United States, Keith managed to keep his job in financial services, but his income dried up as commissions grew scarce.

Suddenly struggling financially, Keith began relying on meals handed out by a charity in Bethesda, a suburb of Washington known for the wealth of which the 52-year-old now finds himself bereft.

"We try to save what we can," Keith, well-dressed in a red-striped polo shirt, told AFP on condition of anonymity. "I don't want to take more resources than I need. If I don't have to come every week I won't." Eight million more people have been driven into poverty as the United States struggles with the world's biggest coronavirus outbreak -- triggering tens of millions of layoffs and a sharp contraction in growth.

With a week to go before the November 3 election, it remains to be seen whether the dire state of the world's largest economy will help tip the vote from President Donald Trump in favor of challenger Joe Biden.

But with the effects of trillions of Dollars in stimulus early in the pandemic fast wearing off, there is little doubt the US middle class is in a perilous situation.

"This is the first time I came here to ask for food but I have no choice," said 40-year-old Joey, who started picking up meals from the charity in Bethesda after losing his job at a nursing home in April, and did not give his last name.