evidence: COVID-19 set off an instructive, if unwanted, experiment. The massive loss of jobs in the early weeks of the pandemic created an unprecedented spike in Unemployment Insurance (UI) claims nationwide. Different experiences across states underscore the economic importance of supporting people financially when they lose jobs through no fault of their own. States with more generous Unemployment Insurance programs generally experienced milder employment declines and quicker recoveries during the first months of the pandemic.[1] In states with less adequate UI benefits, a stronger negative feedback cycle was created as the loss of income depressed consumer spending and prevented businesses from hiring again. [...] COVID-19 has dramatically demonstrated the life-saving importance of paid sick days. Millions of North Carolinians are forced — by company practice and financial necessity — to continue working when they are sick or have a family member who is. Throughout COVID-19, working North Carolinians have raised the alarm about visibly ill coworkers coming to work. Many people were essentially forced to go to work when they were sick or had been exposed by caring for an ill family member because they could not afford to lose even a few shifts worth of income or because they were threatened with being fired if they did not show up.