NPR: Why the high forgiveness rate of PPP loans is troubling to many people

[Mr. Sparkle]

The majority of Paycheck Protection Program loans given to small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic have been forgiven, but new data show the program was rampant with fraud.

Interesting new data is out on the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP for short. It gave potentially forgivable government loans to small businesses during COVID, and the data shows the vast majority of those loans have been forgiven. Sacha Pfeiffer of NPR's investigations team is here to explain why that high forgiveness rate is troubling to many people.

PFEIFFER: So there is no doubt that these loans were a lifesaver for many companies. And anyone who got PPP funding is probably relieved to hear that 92% of all the loans have been granted full or partial forgiveness so far. That's according to Small Business Administration data released this month. But a lot of that money went to businesses that didn't need it - wealthy celebrities like Khloe Kardashian and Tom Brady, for example. They have companies that each got a PPP loan of about $1,000,000 entirely forgiven. Also, many businesses that thrived during COVID got their loans forgiven, like some manufacturing and construction firms.

MARTÍNEZ: But was it legal for them to take that money?
PFEIFFER: Yes, it was. To qualify for a loan, you just had to say you thought you needed it and to get it forgiven, you did not have to prove the money was necessary. So that meant not only did people get loans they didn't truly need, it also attracted scam artists.

https://www.npr.org/2023/01/18/1149719608/why-the-high-forgiveness-rate-of-ppp-loans-is-troubling-to-many-people

[JohnSJ]

1. The Government needs to start indicting people, and if they are found guilty, fine them, and throw

Last edited Thu Jan 19, 2023, 03:30 PM - Edit history (1)

their asses in jail

[jimfields33]

9. Can't. Read the first question at the bottom of the shaded section.

[JohnSJ]

11. Sacha Pfeiffer is NOT the person who decides whether it is legal or not

Last edited Thu Jan 19, 2023, 05:16 PM - Edit history (1)

[jimfields33]

12. Oh. Ok.

[multigraincracker]

2. How come I'm always

a dollar short and a day late? I want to be like Khloe Kardashian and Tom Brady.

[TheRealNorth]

3. Because they travel in circles....

Where the information on how to "legally" rip off the government is shared.

[Merlot]

4. And the EIDL loans that went to freelancers and IC's are NOT forgivable

Seems the big corporations win out again, and individuals on their own get stuck paying the bill.

[underpants]

5. You take a loan, you pay back the loan! Right?

Did I miss some nuance there?

[jimfields33]

10. No longer a thing in the United States in many areas.

[CrispyQ]

6. Once again, those with the most got the most benefit

from a program that many of them disdain as socialism. Socialism is great when you can milk it for yourself, but not so great when it helps the masses. Student loans can't be forgiven, but business loans can. Farmer's loans can.

[Yonnie3]

7. Our small family business got a loan

It was forgiven.

Our business provides live event audio and lighting as well as custom cases and cabling. The business's gross went from the middling 6 figures to under 25,000. It was able to start booking a little work in streamed events later in the year.

The business was saved by the loan. It would have been evicted and lost all the equipment. There is another loan (disaster relief?) loan that is being repaid.

One must be careful not to paint these loans and the recipients with too broad a brush.

I retired from the business when the cancellations for COVID began. I personally got nothing at all from the loan or from the business after the shutdown.

[RandiFan1290]

13. Inspectors general warn that Trump administration is blocking scrutiny of coronavirus rescue program

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/06/15/inspector-general-oversight-mnuchin-cares-act/

June 15, 2020

Inspectors general warn that Trump administration is blocking scrutiny of coronavirus rescue program

The Trump administration’s intensifying efforts to block oversight of its coronavirus-related rescue programs are raising new alarms with government watchdogs and lawmakers from both parties amid concerns about the anonymity of companies receiving unprecedented levels of taxpayer funds.

Government watchdogs warned members of Congress last week that previously unknown Trump administration legal decisions could substantially block their ability to oversee more than $1 trillion in spending related to the coronavirus pandemic.

In a letter to four congressional committee chairs Thursday, two officials in charge of a new government watchdog entity revealed that the Trump administration had issued legal rulings curtailing independent oversight of Cares Act funding.

The letter surfaced amid growing bipartisan frustration over the administration’s decision not to disclose how it is spending hundreds of billions in aid for businesses. On Monday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin appeared to bow to that pressure, saying he would work with Congress on new oversight measures. But some Democrats have said the White House is not taking disclosure requests seriously enough.