A fraction of the $800 billion in wages covered by the Paycheck Protection Program

Most notably, they omitted the requirement that borrowers who want their loans cleared must maintain their pre-pandemic head count. And they reduced the percentage of loans that borrowers seeking forgiveness have to spend on payroll, from 75% to 60%.

That allows business owners to spend more money on rent, utilities and other expenses. (Some of those payments support other industries: An analysis last year found that Paycheck Protection Program money reduce commercial mortgage defaults.)

Of the roughly $510 billion the program lends in 2020, up to $175 billion – about 34% – is paid out to workers who are likely to lose their jobs, Dr Autor’s team found. Money that isn’t specifically to protect jobs is really a breeze for business owners – a wealthy group in general.

“This program is highly effective, very regressive,” says Dr. Autor, using economic jargon for policies that favor the richest.

Lawmakers in both parties have backed the Paycheck Protection Program — it was created under the Trump administration and distributed an additional round of funding after President Biden took office — in part because of every region. Congress has many businessmen like Mrs. Kelly.

Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, talk about Island Grove Wine brilliantly, a winery and wedding venue that the pandemic has turned into “a money pit,” in the words of its owners. Representative Carolyn Bourdeaux of Georgia, a Democrat, praise the program to give local mainstream artists such as the Aurora Theater, an arts venue, “the resources they need to get back on track.”

And Representative Steve Chabot, an Ohio Republican, brought Dr. Rich Coleman, owner of Four Paws Animal Hospital, to a home hearing. Dr. Coleman testified that the program allowed 34 of his employees to “go home every night knowing they could pay their rent, feed their families and, more importantly, have a large number of pets they owned.” possess”.