So, this is interesting. This study shows that PPP did, indeed, save jobs but at an avg cost of roughly $224k per job. Which means that, in reality, a lot of the $ in PPP was "wasted" (b/c it costs way less than that to employ someone). So what, right? Better than nothing, right? https://twitter.com/SteveMatthews12/status/1286048865469308931

Well, it's notable that the same standard is not applied to other programs. Think about SNAP, for example. How often do we hear about "waste" or "abuse" in that program. The standard for aid to PEOPLE seems to be that not one dollar should be wasted. But for businesses, shruggie?

And furthermore, conservatives are currently placing an arbitrary cap on how much more aid they are willing to provide the economy. So in that context, $224k per job saved is a bad use of money when there are much more efficient uses (like UI).

The double standard when it comes to public resources (shovel money at businesses without a care for waste or efficiency but scrutinize every penny when it goes to struggling people) is counterproductive and also racist, playing on old tropes about the "undeserving."

This is not to say that I think we should eliminate PPP. Just that it would be better to apply the same approach to directly helping people as we've applied to helping businesses: namely that there is no cost too great right now.