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We hear a lot these days about the economic impact of the pandemic. Has this been on your mind? If so, tell us what you're thinking.

Homelessness was already a problem in California before the pandemic, but the economic impact of the shutdowns mandated to curb the spread of the virus has pushed many people who were just one paycheck away from disaster out into makeshift tent dwellings on the streets of Berkeley, where I have been living during the pandemic. Over the last 15 months, the number of tent dwellers living on the streets of Berkeley has steadily increased. Mercifully, the City has chosen to leave them alone, and has set up port-a-potties and hand-washing stations near the largest groups of tents. My heart goes out to these people whose economic situation, often due to circumstances beyond their control, has made their lives so difficult. I am outraged at the approach that many other jurisdictions have adopted toward their unhoused residents. My hometown of Santa Cruz, for one, regularly gives tent dwellers a 3-day notice to move (to where?), then confiscates any belongings that haven't been moved, and for the most part, dumps them in the landfill. The eviction moratoriums in some areas have helped many people who would otherwise be on the streets, but our government, at all levels, needs to do a lot more to address the underlying economic inequalities in this country, which have been both exacerbated and highlighted by the pandemic.