The paycheck program that missed the paychecks
$800 billion to “protect paychecks.” Most of it never reached one.
During COVID, the government handed businesses $800 billion in loans and then forgave nearly all of them. The pitch: keep workers on payroll.
The definitive study — MIT's David Autor with Federal Reserve economists — found 66–77% of the money never reached a worker's paycheck. It went to owners, shareholders, and creditors, and three-quarters of the benefit landed in the richest fifth.
Both parties voted for it, in a hurry, with almost no strings. Per dollar, one of the most regressive programs the government has ever run.
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Up to three-quarters of the $800 billion 'Paycheck Protection Program' never touched a paycheck.
Receipts: NBER w29669 (Autor et al.)