I would have preferred seeing unemployment benefits being extended, not increased, and a 0% loan repayable in ten to fifteen years offered to those showing a loss, be it from personal income or revenue within large/small businesses. I don’t really agree with stimulus checks, even though my family received one, cashed it, and put it in savings, because not everyone is in need. My industry wasn’t affected, in fact, it exploded. The only time from work I missed was due to my family contracting Rona. There are many others who continued to work from home, and those companies that realized a savings from home bound more productive employees increased their profits.
I’m not so sure how to get around the PPP. On one hand, since it’s forgiven if the business retains a certain percentage of their workforce, the debt is transferred to the taxpayer. On the other, should those companies furlough, the taxpayer is going to foot the bill for extended unemployment. I guess I would have liked to have seen the same as described above, 0% loans for ten to fifteen years to keep the company moving forward. Perhaps a percentage of payroll from 2019 with the same provisions for maintaining full employment would keep most businesses moving forward, buffering the increased costs of doing business with covid on the scene. All of course being optional.
But these are all provisions that should have been made last year when the first round of coronavirus relief was passed. Now that the seal has been broken, who are Republicans to say what’s too much? I think Trump and Republicans have given a democratically controlled legislature and executive a green light on whatever spending tickles their fancy. There will be outrage over $15 per hour minimum wage and increased stimulus check payments, also anything providing increased monetary benefits to those already on government assistance. But again, we’ve already broken the seal and sent out stimulus checks to those on social security who weren’t economically impacted by shutdowns. We’ve been the arbiters of what’s good for the nation, and now democrats will do the same.
