Mad or nah? N.I.C.E. Stories

‘Mad or nah?’: Philly residents react to the expiration of pandemic-related benefits

P.O.C. hit the streets of Philadelphia to see how residents were reacting to the news that federal unemployment benefits expired a week after the eviction moratorium.

Tamara Russell

September 15, 2021

United States Postal Service carrier Henrietta Dixon walks her route to deliver mail in Philadelphia, Wednesday, May 6, 2020. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Roughly a week after the Supreme Court decided to end the eviction moratorium, federal unemployment benefits expired, too. Nationwide reactions to the news have been split, with some saying that pandemic-related benefits had gone on long enough — at the expense of landlords and the market, the latter implying that workers were making more in unemployment and had no incentive to work — while other have said that aid should last the length of the pandemic.

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But there’s also no telling how long COVID-19 will be a disruptive factor in American life.

P.O.C., a partner in WHYY’s News and Information Community Exchange, hit the streets of Philadelphia this week to garner local reaction to the news.

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Part of the series

Mad or nah?

‘Mad or Nah?’ is an original woman-on-the-street interview series from Revive Radio that asks Philadelphians about issues impacting their everyday life.

View the series