I, too, have been amazed about how all the outrages about the PPP program have been directed toward the wrong elements of the program & not the actual things that should trigger outrage.
https://twitter.com/brycecovert/status/1283029351320231939
The program's purpose was to help eligible businesses retain workers on their payrolls, which is a superior long-term option to allowing folks to become unemployed. But people instead want to focus on "deserving" and "undeserving" firms based on their industrial preferences.
A big problem was how the PPP program worked at cross-purposes with the #UnemploymentInsurance expansions authorized by the #CARESAct. One set of incentives pushed employers to lay off workers, another to keep them employed. This was a real "mixed message" to send."
The involvement of banks was a real problem, as @brycecovert notes in her article. The fees the banks took used money that could have gone to businesses. But bank involvement also turned the process into a crapshoot in which only the lucky or connected were seen to benefit.
Plus, the involvement of bank exacerbated meant that the historical practices that have excluded minority-owned businesses from the banking system would further disadvantage those businesses and their owners.
Also, an overarching problem with the entire #CARESAct was that it assumed the economic crisis would only last a few months--a doubtful assumption even at the time. Almost all of the funds for households & small businesses have been disbursed, but conditions haven't improved.
Congress needs to provide more aid -- more aid to small businesses, more to households, more to unemployed folks, & more to state/local governments--for a extended period of time. Otherwise, the economic crisis only will deepen, which will make fighting the virus even harder.
@threadreaderapp unroll
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
