The Hamilton Project Profile picture
The Hamilton Project at Brookings produces research and policy proposals on how to create a growing economy that benefits more Americans.

Sep 17, 2020, 11 tweets

NEW THREAD: The impact of #COVID19 on #smallbiz has been catastrophic. According to 2 new analyses from @SHamiltonian and @HamiltonProj:

From mid-March to mid-May 2020, > 40% of all small businesses closed, causing revenues to drop 40% on average #COVIDEconomy

By mid-July, more than 420,000 small businesses had permanently closed—equivalent to the # of failures typically seen over a whole year. #COVIDEconomy #SmallBiz

Furthermore, nearly half of small businesses in US cities have two weeks or less of cash on hand, and the amount differs considerably by the race of the business owner. #COVIDEconomy #SmallBiz

Declines in business revenue has caused many firms to become insolvent. The Financial Stress Index and short-term debt for firms has reached levels not seen since the Great Recession, suggesting a wave of bankruptcies to come.

While evidence suggests that the #PaycheckProtection Program (#PPP) had a positive effect on small businesses overall, the outlook is bleak, and the pandemic’s effects are likely to last for some time.

To help viable small businesses stay afloat & maximize employment by #smallbiz during the pandemic, @SHamiltonian proposes an expanded refundable small-business tax credit (ERC) in addition to suppressing the virus & aggressive fiscal stimulus (ex. #UI)

To better prepare our infrastructure for the future, @SHamiltonian proposes a significant, sustained increase in investment in the IRS so that it can implement large-scale wage subsidy programs and provide immediate liquidity to every small business in the country.

With many families experiencing an income shock, supporting #smallbiz & the jobs they provide is critical.

"There are millions of small businesses teetering on the brink, and there are lots of things we can do to help them,” writes @SHamiltonian.

Read @SHamiltonian’s full proposal here: hamiltonproject.org/papers/from_su…

&

Read the full set of economic facts from @laurenlbauer, @KEbroady, @wendyedelberg, and @jimmyodonnell17 here: hamiltonproject.org/papers/ten_fac…

To learn more about how #COVID19 is impacting small business, don’t forget to attend our webinar at 2pm today: hamiltonproject.org/events/small_b…

Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.

A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.

Keep scrolling