Moneda Moves

This is the end of what will be the longest week for many, though this is really what our black communities have faced for years on-end. Across the country, there are uprisings happening in the name of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Michael Lorenzo Dean, Eric Reason, Pamela Turner and so many others. As former President Obama explained in his Medium post, the call-out is explicit for the “reform of police practices and the broader criminal justice system in the United States.” The rate at which black Americans are killed by police is more than twice as high as the rate for white Americans. I do not claim to know how painful it must be for our black communities after decades of our nation watching black people die.

And, so, at the end of this week, this country is not where it needs to be, but it’s clear that masses of people are demanding a solution. In this podcast, we are going to talk about the responsibility of the Latino community in this because it’s huge. We will also be discussing lootings, shootings, how they are affecting the Chicago's most vulnerable communities and importantly, how people are banding together, protecting their small businesses and homes.

I spoke with someone who’s been documenting on the ground and who has worked with small businesses in our Chicago Latino neighborhoods, to get his observations: Mateo Zapata. It’s important to remember that this is not happening in a vacuum, Chicago has historically been one of the most segregated cities in the country - this which was completely engineered by the city by enabling redlining, now-outlawed lending practices that kept minorities out of certain areas, and keeping investment out of black neighborhoods. The most hurt by this were Blacks and Latinos, specifically Mexicans. To date, the segregation is still evident. 

Note: This conversation has sensitive material.

I’ve been thinking a lot about food in my kitchen lately. Why, you ask? Here’s one reason: US grocery costs have jumped the most in 46 years. So while our spending may not go to purchasing air travel, experiences or that new bar in town, I knew I couldn’t be the only one watching my spending at the grocery market.

To learn a bit more about how we can manage our food spend, I reached to Dannielle Romoleroux. She’s the founder of First Gen Money, a financial literacy company that focuses on the first-gen folks, those who are first to graduate from college or build wealth in the U.S.

She’s the daughter to Ecuadorian immigrant parents herself, and recently became debt-free, having paid off $26,385 in 26 months. Go Danielle! She’s also luckily employed, but keeping an eye on her budget. I spoke with Dannielle about how she manages her food spend during the pandemic as a first generation millennial and how she’s learning to Cocinar (Cooking) With What I’ve Got -- a clever name for her new YouTube series. 

Audio Credits

Grocery Store Prices Hit Highest Spike In Almost 50 Years Amid COVID-19 Pandemic -- NBC Nightly News

Soft Mischief -- Jay Man

We’re nearing the end of the month, and this is something on all our minds: bills.

Experts see the jobless rate to approaching 20% in May with another 2.4 million workers having filed for jobless benefits last week. 

Meanwhile, Latinos already have the highest unemployment rate as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics earlier this month. Nearly one in five Latinos are unemployed. So if someone is unemployed or financial unstable, how do they begin to tackle bills and debt? We speak with Francisco Arceo, Founder and CEO of Unidos, a technology company set on bringing financial wellness to the Latino community.

It's no secret that the pandemic has disproportionately hurt minorities in the the U.S.

Meanwhile, the average cost to treat a hospitalized patient with coronavirus is a crippling $30,000 as reported by CNBC. But at SOMOS Community Care, they can get tested and seen at no cost and with no questions asked on citizenship status. Dr. Ramon Tallaj, who is an immigrant from the Dominican Republic himself knows this is a big deal for people coming from these communities fearing for their lives while also living with limited resources.

Dr. Tallaj paints a picture of how COVID has rattled people of color in New York City and beyond. He’s seen it first-hand, as he leads the SOMOS  provider system -- a network 3,500 health care providers and more than 650,000 patients now serving Asian and Hispanic immigrants impacted by COVID-19. This week, we talk about Latinos, how their health is affected by the pandemic and how doctors at SOMOS are looking to help. 

To learn more about SOMOS, their work in New York City, and how you can potentially help, visit somoscommunitycare.org.

It’s no secret that that federal aid put forth by the Small Business Administration has been met with its fair share of critique. The two big programs you’ve heard about are the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Take the $660 billion Paycheck Protection Program, which was meant to extend help to small businesses battered by the pandemic, allowing them to keep employees on the payroll. While some businesses have received a much needed infusion to help pay staff, others never heard back. It’s unsure whether they will at all.

Let's talk about essential workers in the era of coronavirus. These are our health care, agriculture workers, bus drivers, grocers, to name a few. And when we look a bit closer, they also tend to be minorities. Take New York City, for instance. A study from the city comptroller here found that 75% workers here working on the frontlines are minorities. More than 60 percent of people who work as cleaners are Latino, and more than 40 percent of transit employees are black.

If these employees are so essential, why is it that many continue to be paid low wages and ill-equipped for COVID-19 on the job?

Global Markets Reporter at Nasdaq and Trade Talks show host Jill Malandrino joins us on this episode to address these questions and how we return to work and a new normal.

In 2020, no is immune to the side effects of COVID-19: not physically, mentally and for most, financially.  

In our inaugural episode, we are joined by Jully-Alma Taveras, creator Investing Latina. On her page she shares personal finance tips and her own money experiences. As a contractor in the fashion industry, she’s lost 50% of her clients. But she has a money plan. She tells us a little more about how she's navigating her finances and how her family coped when they learned her dad was diagnosed with COVID-19.

This is Moneda Moves, the podcast. We're speaking to the power of Latinos in business, our relationship with money and role in the American economy. ✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿