That had no downturn in business because of Covid and wouldn’t have struggled to keep employees. It was literally just a direct payment to shareholders (who in some cases were already raking in record profits). There was no requirement to demonstrate any loss of business revenue in order to qualify for the “loan” or forgiveness of the loan. That’s INSANE!

Even after the fact, it could’ve been addressed at the forgiveness stage and basically not allowed for anyone to get more money forgiven than they actually lost. All that would’ve needed to be done is require a signature from a certified accountant that the amount forgiven does not exceed the delta in revenue (or net operating income) between the PPP year and the last non-Covid year. That probably would’ve saved billions right there AND it was entirely foreseeable and fair from day 1.