Small businesses say they need more than 2 months of help to survive coronavirus crisis – By Caitlin Fichtel and David K. Li (NBC News) / April 26 2020
Strict restrictions on federal assistance could hinder their bid for long-term survival.
Even as a new round of billion-dollar relief hits Main Street this week, some small-business owners fear that the money still isn’t enough — and that it comes with so many strings attached that it won’t help their long-term survival.
The latest version of the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, is expected to provide $310 billion more to help limit the economic meltdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
But for the federally backed loans to be forgiven, recipients must spend 75 percent of the money within eight weeks on payroll to employees who were on the books as the pandemic broke out. The remaining money can be spent on rent, utilities, employee health care benefits and mortgage payments.
Nicole Marquis, owner of the restaurant HipCityVeg in Philadelphia, a recipient of the most recent round of federal aid, said future packages must “provide flexibility in timing to use it.”
She said that while the federal government appears to believe businesses will be up and running in two months, that’s not the reality she sees.
“Now, we know that’s preposterous. That’s not going to happen,” Marquis told NBC News. “The growing reality is our industry will be nowhere near full operating capacity by then or for a long time.”
A man wearing a mask walks past Sogho Express African Hair Braiding salon, which is closed because of the coronavirus pandemic, in Brooklyn, N.Y., on April 7, 2020.Mark Lennihan / AP file
It’s unclear how much the small-business lending program can hold back the surge in joblessness — a record 22 million people sought first-time unemployment insurance in the past month. Most economists predict that the unemployment rate will reach 15 percent to 20 percent when the monthly jobs report is released in early May.
Continue to article: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/small-businesses-say-they-need-more-2-months-help-survive-n1192201
