In the beginning of the new year and the new decade, there was hope and aspiration all around the world; everyone was dreaming of what this new decade would bring us and there was happiness  all around. The expression, “out with the old and in with the new” was one many individuals were thinking of when they entered the year 2020. No one could’ve imagined 2020 would bring something like this to our midsts, except for Bill Gates of course. All the light and excitement for 2020 vanished once the dreadful Coronavirus spread worldwide, and this virus is one for the history books. 

    During this pandemic, there are currently twenty two million citizens unemployed because of Covid-19. If people were in the customer service business, work was done for them at this point. Some people did get the chance to work at home, but there’s only about 7% of the United States that are working at home; not many get the chance to do that. This leads everyone to ask: what about the rent? Do we still have to pay our bills and taxes? 

    In the state of Florida, rent still has to be paid. However, not to fright, because most landlords are stating that rent doesn’t have to be paid in full.  Residents are allowed to pay what they can. USA Today said that the federal government took a big step toward protecting renters by issuing a 120-day moratorium on evictions from federally subsidized housing or from a property with a federally backed mortgage loan. For businesses that need to pay rent, there are many business loans banks are offering to help. It is not possible for people to not pay at all, otherwise landlords will go bankrupt, thus residents are asked to pay what they can. The Miami Herald also stated that “citizen’s mortgage also has to be paid, but in the light of financial hardships wrought by the virus’ impact on businesses, which led to massive layoffs and furloughs, individuals may have a bit of a reprieve if they can’t make the rent payment.” They also mentioned how “The Florida Supreme Court also made a ruling on evictions and foreclosures that could give relief to Floridians who wonder how they can shelter in a place if they lose their home.”

     As for paying off credit cards, almost all the companies have given payment delays for 90 days. There are also a lot of different government loans that are being offered to residents that can’t afford to pay their bills. To help with that, the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) tax returns have been extended as well. They are all trying to accommodate people during this stressful and dreadful crisis. Overall, if people have money and can pay whatever they can in full, then they should. Everybody understands that this is a global pandemic, and they are doing everything they can to help.