Following the recent 388 to 5 passing of the Congress bill to add an additional $484 billion to help small businesses, the BBC reviews the reasons for the necessity of this addition as well as how this money might affect small businesses.
Dante Disparte, the Head of Policy at the Libra Association, announces that 36.4 million Americans have applied for unemployment claims, demonstrating the enormous turmoil for both American employees out of work and the small businesses who no longer have the resources to keep their staff on the books nor their doors open.
Dr. Ayman El Tarabishy, executive director of the International Council for Small Business and George Washington University deputy chair of the Department of Management of GW School of Business, begins by describing these additional funds as “excellent news;” however, later, he admits that we need more. As the first wave of support did not reach many small businesses, this original inadequacy “lost” many SMEs for good.
Dr. El Tarabishy does point to a “middle-class,” so to speak, of small businesses that have yet to close their doors, yet who remain in limbo. Their journey will certainly be characterized by their ability to access financial support, specifically that of this most recent stimulus addition.
When asked if there was a risk that the first round of funding, Dr. El Tarabishy stated that the money most certainly did not go to the right people. In the “frantic effort” of the first dispersion, the government did not consider how the “first come first serve” setup of administering aid was indirectly designed to assist companies, such as franchisees, that have access to banking systems.
Disparte believes that this recent intervention is welcome. However, the government must be “sharper” on its administration, meaning that we need not just a comprehensive package but also comprehensive plans to make sure that the small businesses targeted are receiving their rightful aid.
Following, Stefanie Yuen Thio of the Joint Management Partner at TSMP Law in Singapore describes Singapore’s $64 billion Singapore dollar plan, which she believes to be more targeted than the US package. Taking a moment to speak about Europe’s financial situation and subsequent package, BBC’s Andrew Walker explains the European Union’s recovery fund angled to rebuild.