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My experience with the CARES Act

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Re: My experience with the CARES Act

#41
post #29

I personally also had a very frustrating experience with the CARES act, specifically PPP loans. Applied as soon as they came out, directly with the SBA first, then with 3 different banks. Still waiting :( However, at the end of the day, businesses are not what's essential, people are. And that's why it's so infuriating that the government has acted pretty much exactly on the opposite view. It has prioritized saving h…

The reason they prop up markets is there is some belief that the Great Depression was made worse by a market crash.

Or because the people making the rules stand to lose a lot of their net worth if the stocks they hold tank.

Re: My experience with the CARES Act

#42
post #29

I personally also had a very frustrating experience with the CARES act, specifically PPP loans. Applied as soon as they came out, directly with the SBA first, then with 3 different banks. Still waiting :( However, at the end of the day, businesses are not what's essential, people are. And that's why it's so infuriating that the government has acted pretty much exactly on the opposite view. It has prioritized saving h…

The reason they prop up markets is there is some belief that the Great Depression was made worse by a market crash.

The Great Depression was greatly exacerbated by runs on the banks which were in turn exacerbated by the Fed not providing adequate liquidity. The stock market crash was an ancillary effect of the lack of liquidity: everyone needed cash and no one had any. The crash in and of itself had almost no direct impact on the depth and severity of the depression. It was just a reflection of the sudden scarcity of money. Propping up the markets in response to an economic crisis is cargo cult economics, kind of like trying to treat a fever by putting the thermometer in the refrigerator instead of under your tongue.

Re: My experience with the CARES Act

#44

I personally also had a very frustrating experience with the CARES act, specifically PPP loans. Applied as soon as they came out, directly with the SBA first, then with 3 different banks. Still waiting :( However, at the end of the day, businesses are not what's essential, people are. And that's why it's so infuriating that the government has acted pretty much exactly on the opposite view. It has prioritized saving h…

If you give money directly to people it disrupts the power system. It gives people options if they suddenly have money that isn’t tied to work. By giving it to companies first you maintain the system of wage slavery that exists for the ~50% who live paycheck to paycheck.

Re: My experience with the CARES Act

#45
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you upload / send me those pages and any research you did on it? I'd like to see if I can offer it to my employees. I've never heard of giving money to employees for student loans that also reduces the employer's tax burden. EDIT: Everything I can find just says the student loan payments from employers are now tax-free for the employee . I would love to know if there are other areas of the bill that give the busi…

SEC. 2301. EMPLOYEE RETENTION CREDIT FOR EMPLOYERS SUBJECT TO CLOSURE DUE TO COVID–19. see "(2) eligible employers" section" https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/748/... good luck

[deleted]

Re: My experience with the CARES Act

#46

I personally also had a very frustrating experience with the CARES act, specifically PPP loans. Applied as soon as they came out, directly with the SBA first, then with 3 different banks. Still waiting :( However, at the end of the day, businesses are not what's essential, people are. And that's why it's so infuriating that the government has acted pretty much exactly on the opposite view. It has prioritized saving h…

You cannot apply for PPP loans with the SBA. You may have applied with the SBA under the EIDL program. If so, you should check your bank account--we've heard from many businesses that the SBA deposited money directly in the past few days.

Re: My experience with the CARES Act

#47
post #19

Individuals and small business have both been shafted. There's a provision in the CARES Act which allows employers of any size to give a one time donation to employees towards their student loans in exchange for decreased tax liability. I am currently talking with my employer, but thus far they do not want to participate in this program. They initially cited the company does not apply for the program due to their com…

You're mixing up different provisions of the CARES Act, so it's not a surprise your employer didn't do anything.

Section 2206 simply extends an existing tax benefit related to tuition payments made by the employer. The benefit is to the employee not the company.

Section 2301 reduces payroll taxes by up to 50% for businesses that needed to shut down or reduce activities as a result of COVID19

Re: My experience with the CARES Act

#48
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you upload / send me those pages and any research you did on it? I'd like to see if I can offer it to my employees. I've never heard of giving money to employees for student loans that also reduces the employer's tax burden. EDIT: Everything I can find just says the student loan payments from employers are now tax-free for the employee . I would love to know if there are other areas of the bill that give the busi…

SEC. 2301. EMPLOYEE RETENTION CREDIT FOR EMPLOYERS SUBJECT TO CLOSURE DUE TO COVID–19. see "(2) eligible employers" section" https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/748/... good luck

Section 2301 is unrelated to section 2106, which provides the employer paid tuition benefit.

Re: My experience with the CARES Act

#49

Government just released notification with no clear guidelines that companies who took money but didn't need it (language is heavily biased against VC-backed startups) will need to repay by May 6th for forgiveness, or be investigated and potentially fined/penalized for taking money they didn't need. This is a good idea in theory but of course the language is hopelessly vague and there are no guidelines, because that…

The guidelines are clear.

Entity type: Pretty much any "business" entity is eligible.

Size: The SBA has very clear size standards (based on employees or if you look at alternative size standards a combination of net assets and historical profitability). These are all objective criteria.

Affiliation: The Treasury & SBA intentionally loosened affiliation rules to INCLUDE the vast majority of VC-backed companies.

Credit elsewhere, collateral, personal guarantees: The Congress eliminated these requirements because they would limit and slow capital access.

The Treasury issued new guidance on Thursday in response to a loophole that allowed large companies (aka those that would not qualify themselves) to access PPP funding through their subsidiaries (which previously DID qualify under the law). This guidance is very clear: it applies to "large companies" (aka not "small businesses") and effectively closes the loophole. As a result many companies have returned their PPP loans, which was the intended result. (Q31 here https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/Paycheck-Protecti...)

If you're interested, you can read the Treasury Department guidelines here: https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/cares/assistance-for...

Re: My experience with the CARES Act

#50
post #42
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The reason they prop up markets is there is some belief that the Great Depression was made worse by a market crash.

The Great Depression was greatly exacerbated by runs on the banks which were in turn exacerbated by the Fed not providing adequate liquidity. The stock market crash was an ancillary effect of the lack of liquidity: everyone needed cash and no one had any. The crash in and of itself had almost no direct impact on the depth and severity of the depression. It was just a reflection of the sudden scarcity of money. Proppi…

Just said made worse, no need to write a PhD :-)
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