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Presumably this is because the government pumped money into the stock market, and rich people hold more stocks. If the government just let the stock market cras

by nayuki 5y ago

Presumably this is because the government pumped money into the stock market, and rich people hold more stocks. If the government just let the stock market crash, would people be more upset than the current situation where the rich got richer?

newbamboo 5y ago
It pumped money at all levels of the economy. It turns out the rich tend to benefit in such circumstance. For instance rent subsidies end up in the pockets of landlords who are protected from the decline in the broader economy. People here don’t like it to be pointed out (they downvote any mention) but inflation is here and here it will stay for at least another quarter probably much longer. Don’t take my word for it, read about it yourself. Yellen predicts 4-5% inflation by the end of the year.
mywittyname 5y ago
They gave business owners a billion dollars in low-interest loans, then immediately forgave them. This was a direct payout too. Even though these funds were supposed to be used for paycheck protection (hence the name, Paycheck Protection Program), it seems that a lot of executives used the funds to finance personal bonuses because when it became clear that they wouldn't even need to use them to pay salaries. That's pretty different from buying up $700MM in government bonds and mortgage-backed securities, because that's something the government generally does anyway, and doing so merely provides liquidity for institutions who serve as intermediaries of these debts.
- chuckee 5y ago
  Strange how the Paycheck Protection Program didn't directly pay workers who didn't get paychecks, but had to go through their employers instead.
  - newbamboo 5y ago
    It turns out, businesses contribute to political campaigns. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/planned-parenthood-paycheck-protection-program-loan-controversy/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/planned-parenthood-paycheck-pro...
    - GaryTang 5y ago
      which would be wild if at the end of the day politicians didn’t still have the last say
  - dntrkv 5y ago
    That's what the unemployment was for, and it was quite generous. $1200/month on top of the existing unemployment benefits, plus the stimulus checks. Most low wage workers earned more on unemployment during COVID.
- fzzzy 5y ago
  Do you have a reference for "immediately forgave them"? I haven't heard that before.
  - liveoneggs 5y ago
    https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/covid-19-relief-options/paycheck-protection-program/ppp-loan-forgiveness https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/covid-19-relief-o...
    - fzzzy 5y ago
      thanks

by nayuki 5y ago

newbamboo 5y ago

It pumped money at all levels of the economy. It turns out the rich tend to benefit in such circumstance. For instance rent subsidies end up in the pockets of landlords who are protected from the decline in the broader economy. People here don’t like it to be pointed out (they downvote any mention) but inflation is here and here it will stay for at least another quarter probably much longer. Don’t take my word for it, read about it yourself. Yellen predicts 4-5% inflation by the end of the year.

mywittyname 5y ago

They gave business owners a billion dollars in low-interest loans, then immediately forgave them. This was a direct payout too. Even though these funds were supposed to be used for paycheck protection (hence the name, Paycheck Protection Program), it seems that a lot of executives used the funds to finance personal bonuses because when it became clear that they wouldn't even need to use them to pay salaries. That's pretty different from buying up $700MM in government bonds and mortgage-backed securities, because that's something the government generally does anyway, and doing so merely provides liquidity for institutions who serve as intermediaries of these debts.

chuckee 5y ago
Strange how the Paycheck Protection Program didn't directly pay workers who didn't get paychecks, but had to go through their employers instead.
- newbamboo 5y ago
  It turns out, businesses contribute to political campaigns. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/planned-parenthood-paycheck-protection-program-loan-controversy/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/planned-parenthood-paycheck-pro...
  - GaryTang 5y ago
    which would be wild if at the end of the day politicians didn’t still have the last say
- dntrkv 5y ago
  That's what the unemployment was for, and it was quite generous. $1200/month on top of the existing unemployment benefits, plus the stimulus checks. Most low wage workers earned more on unemployment during COVID.
fzzzy 5y ago
Do you have a reference for "immediately forgave them"? I haven't heard that before.
- liveoneggs 5y ago
  https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/covid-19-relief-options/paycheck-protection-program/ppp-loan-forgiveness https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/covid-19-relief-o...
  - fzzzy 5y ago
    thanks