Unemployment numbers continue to rise nationally and statewide as we battle through this pandemic. Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon held a virtual town hall where she addressed this topic.

Just last week 4.4 million Americans applied for unemployment nationwide and 1.4 million and counting in New York State since the economy shut down last month.

Assemblywoman Buttenschon addressed a host of topics including: individual safety in coronavirus testing, health and education funding and the New York state budget which was passed earlier this month which is a one hundred and seventy eight billion dollar budget.

Which then brought up the question of what is considered an essential business versus non-essential? She shared the controversy this topic has caused because some working folks feel like there is more of a benefit to receive state aid than to return to work.

“The state of New York has clear guidelines to talk about Covid related layoffs or covert related rationales of why individuals are not working. This is something that we are going to continue to work through at the state level. To try to determine what individuals actually do deserve the funding or are in desperate need of that funding," says Buttenschon. 

She reminded local businesses who have been deemed non-essential that they can request a wwaiver to the state's COVID-19 closures. 

Buttenschon also spoke about educational funding amidst the concerns of educational budget cuts saying, “Education is obviously something that is very, very important to me because I think it is the foundation of everything.”

She emphasizes the importance of following executive orders. You can find the list here.