What does a BIDEN Presidency look like?

[Admiral Yi]

Valmy, I think you and I may be the only people left in the US who care about deficits.

[OttoVonBismarck]

Just the White House tweeting out a list of Republicans who got large PPP loans forgiven:

https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1562916200866267138?t=p6ul0StxzvWZuWO1XVgXXw&s=33

[Sheilbh]

I've been critical of Biden - but he's had a hell of a few weeks. I've previously that the thing Democrats need to do is deliver and that's definitely been happening.

Still have no idea how you get out of a situation where loser's consent has evaporated etc - but it's a start.

Edit: Having said that not sure on those tweets - don't they just risk strengthening the impression it's unfair and leave an open goal for a "I'm exactly the sort of person who shouldn't be getting a hand out" attack?

[Admiral Yi]

Edit: Having said that not sure on those tweets - don't they just risk strengthening the impression it's unfair and leave an open goal for a "I'm exactly the sort of person who shouldn't be getting a hand out" attack?

In case you are confused as I was, PPP loans are Paycheck Protection Program loans (from the Covid bill), not student loans.

[DGuller]

Why do Congress people need such large PPP loans?  How much do they earn?

[OttoVonBismarck]

I didn't realize awareness about PPP was so low around here. It was a $950bn "boondoggle", literally almost anyone who draws a 1099 or has an LLC could get one, and there was almost no auditing or requirement checking or anything else.

As far as can be told (which is hard with basically no auditing or regulations of how the money is spent), 75% of the money just went directly into the pockets of the "business owners", many of whom are just people who had LLCs for tax purposes and don't operate going-concern businesses. There are stories of people who run their own small podcast claiming PPP loans. Around 25% of the money did go to employee paychecks, which was the "justification" for the program.

In short it was as massive transfer of taxpayer wealth to the small % of Americans who own businesses.

FWIW due to the side real estate business my wife and I run I absolutely could have gotten a decent amount in PPP money, we chose not to because we didn't need it, forbearance that in retrospect was probably too noble.

[Berkut]

The company I work for took advantage of it. We used it to pay salaries, but in retrospect did not actually need it.

Which amounts to profit for the company, of course. Which we plowed back into the company, but still. It was basically just a handout.

[Habbaku]

I really regret not starting a podcast and taking my $25,000.

[Valmy]

The company I work for took advantage of it. We used it to pay salaries, but in retrospect did not actually need it.

Which amounts to profit for the company, of course. Which we plowed back into the company, but still. It was basically just a handout.

I mean it would be insane not to take and insane to pay it back even if you could do either from a business perspective. Which is kind of the frustrating consequence of the PPP loans, you would be irresponsible NOT to screw the US taxpayer.

[crazy canuck]

The company I work for took advantage of it. We used it to pay salaries, but in retrospect did not actually need it.

Which amounts to profit for the company, of course. Which we plowed back into the company, but still. It was basically just a handout.

I mean it would be insane not to take and insane to pay it back even if you could do either from a business perspective. Which is kind of the frustrating consequence of the PPP loans, you would be irresponsible NOT to screw the US taxpayer.

See every tax avoidance provision in every tax code in the world.

[Admiral Yi]

Bet the folks at National Archives are enjoying their 15 minutes.

[Valmy]

Valmy, I think you and I may be the only people left in the US who care about deficits.

There are a few others. I remember shortly after Trump did his big tax cut with his giant budget and the few remaining deficit hawks were hand-wringing and Pence had to go feed them this bullshit about how we would grow out into a surplus in a few years. LOL.

Nobody cares. All I could do was laugh at that point.

[Habbaku]

I definitely care about deficits, but I'm not sure that hand-wringing (mine, in particular) matters much. So why talk it to death?

[Admiral Yi]

I definitely care about deficits, but I'm not sure that hand-wringing (mine, in particular) matters much. So why talk it to death?

The same reason we talk any policy issue to death, to sway public opinion, to vent, and to look really smart.

[Habbaku]

I am partial to that last one, but I like to leave this particular topic for others.