Thread by @doctorow

The PPP stimulus program contained the kernel of a crucial and beneficial idea - that it would be easier to put people back on the payroll after the crisis than it would be to find them jobs after their employers went bankrupt.

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It provided 12 weeks' payroll coverage as a forgivable loan that would not be due if your employees were still on the payroll when it ran out.

As good as this idea was, it had some serious deficiencies.

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First, it didn't last long enough. The lockdown continues. It will likely continue through the rest of 2020 and beyond, thanks in large part to Trump's mismanagement, abetted by callous, greedy business "leaders" and Republican state officials.

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Next, there wasn't enough. The fund ran out early and many businesses - especially minority owned businesses - were shut out entirely.

Finally, it was badly administered. 94.5% of the initial tranche when to giant corporations.

pluralistic.net/2020/04/20/gre…

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Congress appropriated more after the initial pot ran out, but repeated the sins of the first tranche, and added a new one: Congressional Dems made lobbyists and dark money orgs eligible - handing cash to orgs whose job is to hand cash to them.

pluralistic.net/2020/05/13/mal…

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All in all, 4.89m loans were approved, and 661,218 loan recipients of this "small business" money pulled in $150k-$10m.

Now, thanks to @propublica, you can search the recipients of this money, by name, ZIP, industry or lender.

projects.propublica.org/coronavirus/ba…

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You can check out for yourself how much the @AynRandInst got in government handouts ($350,000-1 million).

projects.propublica.org/coronavirus/ba…

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Or @taxreformer, @GroverNorquist's organization dedicated to eliminating taxation and shutting down government relief programs: another $150k-$1m.

projects.propublica.org/coronavirus/ba…

eof/