Senate Takes A Vacation, Small Businesses Still in Crisis
Having recessed for the month of August, Congress still did not pass further pandemic relief aid due to infighting between and within the parties. Legislation with bipartisan support, such as small business relief in the form of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), is being held up by more contested pieces, such as a state and local government bailout.
As Congress takes its summer vacation, minority-owned businesses continue to struggle in part due to a lack of support from the PPP as wealthy conglomerates and fraudsters take advantage of the program’s minimal oversight.
WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF THE PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM?
Wall Street Journal | Lawmakers’ Efforts to Restart PPP Stalled by Broader Fight
“Aides and lawmakers say senators on the Small Business Committee are largely in agreement on new legislation that would extend the program for several months, simplify the forgiveness for small-dollar loans and allow businesses with modest head counts to access a second round of money… But Democrats have resisted doing piecemeal legislation, saying they want a sweeping multitrillion-dollar package that includes funding for unemployment benefits and state and local aid and could include PPP. Republican senators are divided over assistance and would be unlikely to pass a stand-alone PPP bill.”
Los Angeles Times | A revamped PPP coronavirus loan program is in the works. Will it help small businesses left out before?
Yahoo Money | Next round of PPP needs ‘clear guidance’ for applicants: Beneficial State Bank CEO
Bloomberg | Stimulus Talks Are Stuck in $1 Trillion Ditch Over Aid to States
SMALL BUSINESSES IN COMMUNITIES OF COLOR STILL SUFFERING
@YahooFinance | “’Highlight: “Black business owners have had difficulty in gaining access to PPP loans,’ @accountable_us Dir. of Rapid Response Research and Communications Jenna Kruse says. ‘A lot of that has been on the loan terms set out by the government and the incentives provided to banks.’” [View Tweet]
Accountable.US | Black Woman-owned Businesses Received Disproportionately Few PPP Loans
Federal Reserve Bank of New York | Double Jeopardy: COVID-19’s Concentrated Health and Wealth Effects in Black Communities
Reuters | Predominately black congressional districts got fewer PPP loans: study
NBER | The Targeting and Impact of Paycheck Protection Program Loans to Small Businesses
Fortune | Why are Black-owned businesses twice as likely to close during the pandemic?
PPP: MISMANAGED AND RIFE WITH FRAUD
Business Insider | Government watchdog finds ‘strong indicators of widespread fraud’ in small business loan program
“The Small Business Administration’s watchdog said widespread instances of possible fraud were discovered in the agency’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.”
Forbes | $8.5 Million PPP Loan Recipient Went To Vegas, Accused Of Fraud According To DOJ
Small Biz Trends | 34 PPP Fraud Prosecutions So Far, and Counting
Accountable.US | Watchdog Calls for PPP Inspector General Investigation
THE WEALTHY AND WELL-CONNECTED THRIVE AT THE EXPENSE OF WORKERS
Project On Government Oversight | Corrupted: How the PPP Loans Favored the Historically Advantaged
“From the outset, there’s been a steady flow of stories about powerful, wealthy, or undeserving companies and institutions receiving loans through this federal program. Among them: the Los Angeles Lakers, Shake Shack, and Ruth’s Chris Steak House. When the government eventually released data on the largest loans, we saw that those early examples weren’t flukes.”
Washington Post | Business is booming for dialysis giant Fresenius. It took a bailout of at least $137 million anyway.
Yahoo News | How coronavirus bailout money flowed to sprawling companies
Washington Post | The recession is over for the rich, but the working class is far from recovered