Webinar: COVID-19 Impacts on the California Economy

Part of the Labor Center’s Covid-19 Series: Resources, Data, and Analysis for California
 

On Tuesday, April 28, 2020 the UC Berkeley Labor Center and SEIU California co-hosted a panel discussion of the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on state and local governments. The webinar was to provide California labor and community leaders an opportunity to understand the potential fiscal impacts of COVID-19, policy efforts to promote fiscal recovery, and the implications for the local and state workforce going into the 2020-21 fiscal year.

State and local governments are already feeling the effects of a statewide shelter in place order, increased public health spending, and soaring demand for public services and safety net programs. Many states and cities have already announced Private sector unemployment has already skyrocketed; reductions in the public sector workforce could further damage the economy and serve as a drag on recovery. How are fiscal policy experts approaching this challenge?

Co-sponsored by SEIU California

Introductions:

Ken Jacobs, Chair, UC Berkeley Labor Center
Alma Hernandez, Executive Director, SEIU California

Facilitator:

Sara Hinkley, Policy Research Specialist, UC Berkeley Labor Center

Panelists:

Josh Bivens, Director of Research, Economic Policy Institute
Chris Hoene, Executive Director, California Budget and Policy Center
Kim Rueben, Director, State and Local Finance Initiative, Tax Policy Center