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Searchable PPP Loan Data

pppreport.org

151–160 of 354 posts

Re: Searchable PPP Loan Data

#152

I think PPP saved the economy. We can scapegoat and find problems. But don’t ignore what would have happened in its absence. Companies would reduce spending at the very least or go out of business at the worst. We would have entered a self reinforcing cycle of reduced spending and purchasing creating a depression.

"I think PPP saved the economy."

You ain't seen nothing yet.

Re: Searchable PPP Loan Data

#153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Of particular reference here - startups that laid off employees and /then/ applied for a PPP loan Aren't these exactly the companies that SHOULD have received PPP? They were clearly struggling and without the money were reducing head count already.

Why should taxpayers have bailed out businesses that couldn’t keep employees on payroll though? There is no end in sight to either corona virus or the economic downturn, so it’s just throwing 8 weeks worth of taxpayer money into bad investments. What’s going to happen within 8 weeks to ensure these employees won’t just be let go again?

> Why should taxpayers have bailed out businesses that couldn’t keep employees on payroll though?

Because those same taxpayers voted in a government that prohibited many of those businesses from operating.

> There is no end in sight to either corona virus or the economic downturn, so it’s just throwing 8 weeks worth of taxpayer money into bad investments. What’s going to happen within 8 weeks to ensure these employees won’t just be let go again?

The purpose of the funds isn't to prevent future unemployment. It's to funnel funds to individuals who would otherwise be unemployed. The funds can only be used for payroll to be forgiven. So this is an unemployment payout by other means, in addition to the federal unemployment benefits that were expanded.

Re: Searchable PPP Loan Data

#154
post #77

So many complaints here. Based on the comments I think there is some misunderstanding about the nuts and bolts of this program. These are loans. They are two year low interest loans. They have to be paid back unless some or all is forgiven. Forgiveness requires documentation on employees retained, wage history, and is capped at $20k/employee maximum. And of course a piece of that comes back to the government in terms…

>These are loans. They are two year low interest loans. They have to be paid back unless some or all is forgiven. This is a highly politicized way to frame PPP loans. Its more like: "These loans are forgiven, unless you scammed the government." These loans were specifically designed to be forgiven, a minimum of 75% of the loan was to be for payroll and if used for payroll (what it was supposed to be used for) that po…

Totally agree, and I think this is important to emphasize. I was involved in researching the requirements for a PPP loan for a nonprofit. I can guarantee that the vast majority of businesses (like 95%+) took out these loans with the intention they would never be paid back. Indeed, that was a feature, not a bug, of the whole "loan" program. If you took out the loans to keep employees on staff (and did so), then you had to fuck up hard to not have the loans be forgiven.

So it kind of irks me to see some people frame this like a large percentage of these loans will be paid back. Not only is that not the case, it was never intended to be the case.

Re: Searchable PPP Loan Data

#155
post #30

There are several scenarios that frustrate me. Examples like law firms or physicians' offices. These are relatively small firms with very wealthy principals. They are asking for taxpayer money to maintain their wealthy lifestyles, so they don't have to sacrifice their Bentleys to pay staffers. Examples: Thomas J Henry in San Antonio. LLCs and franchisees that probably have millions of dollars in holdings and cash, bu…

> They are asking for taxpayer money to maintain their wealthy lifestyles The one comforting limitation was that payroll calculations were capped at $100k. So if you had 10 people with a $250k salary, the maximum loan amount is calculated based on having a salary of $100k. Although you're allowed to add in the cost of healthcare and 401k contributions without limitation. I think the $100k cap was quite generous and p…

There's a comparable program in Canada where the government covers up to $750/week in wages - essentially $40k/year - from March to August depending on your revenues. Feels a little better than the $100k cap (although probably a bit on the low side).

Re: Searchable PPP Loan Data

#156
post #77

So many complaints here. Based on the comments I think there is some misunderstanding about the nuts and bolts of this program. These are loans. They are two year low interest loans. They have to be paid back unless some or all is forgiven. Forgiveness requires documentation on employees retained, wage history, and is capped at $20k/employee maximum. And of course a piece of that comes back to the government in terms…

> Should they not have taken it? I seriously considered not cashing my stimulus check until I talked to multiple well off people that cashed their dead relative's checks. There just isnt a cultural expectation in the US that you wouldn't take what you're given. EDIT: Rethinking my comment I'm giving myself too much credit. Since I never got a physical check, I couldn't have "not cashed it" if I wanted to.

You pay taxes. You should take what the government gives you in return. I suppose there are many opinions here, but I have plenty of friends who refuse to take unemployment insurance, when they've paid into it for years (sometimes decades).

Re: Searchable PPP Loan Data

#157
post #23
post #15

I was surprised that O'Reilly had a loan for $5-$10 million. https://pppreport.org/company/o+reilly+media+inc They seem like a company where most people can work from home. EDIT: I totally forgot about their conference business. That makes more sense.

Their conferences business took a huge hit.

Huge hit is a bit of an understatement... they've cancelled all future conferences, likely permanently

Re: Searchable PPP Loan Data

#158
post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Should they not have taken it? I seriously considered not cashing my stimulus check until I talked to multiple well off people that cashed their dead relative's checks. There just isnt a cultural expectation in the US that you wouldn't take what you're given. EDIT: Rethinking my comment I'm giving myself too much credit. Since I never got a physical check, I couldn't have "not cashed it" if I wanted to.

>’ cashed their dead relative's checks.’ Unless there is some weird allowance (widower/widow inheritance, etc.) wouldn’t this be straight fraud? I know in some countries people don’t report their relatives’ deaths in order to keep receiving their benefits, but obviously that’s illegal too.

It is straight fraud good for years in prison.

Re: Searchable PPP Loan Data

#159
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those things only frustrate me if they aren't loans, which they would be, right?

No, they're not really loans, they are basically free money. They only have to be paid back if you end up firing the workers you were supposed to keep employed with the loan. If they stay employed then your "loan" is fully forgiven.

That's what I mean. You have to explicitly use them for payroll within 2 months of acceptance, and retain 75% of your staff, and a lot of companies are not bothering with that and just taking the low-interest loan. A loan is still something, but it's not even in the same area code as a grant.

Re: Searchable PPP Loan Data

#160
post #18
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those things only frustrate me if they aren't loans, which they would be, right?

But there's still not enough of those loans to go round, so it is still very meaningful who gets them.

The second round still has funding available.
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