Dallas (CBSDFW.COM) The Federal Payments Protection Program was supposed to help keep millions of Americans on payroll during the COVID-19 crisis.
But according to a new study, only about a third of the $800 billion went directly to workers who would otherwise have lost their jobs.
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A new study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that 66% to 77% of program money did not go to paychecks. Instead, most of the money ended up in the hands of business owners and shareholders.
The study traced money from the federal relief program even further and found that 72% of the money flows into the top quintile of household income, which means most money from PPP loans went to six-figure people.
The study notes that before the pandemic, the United States did not have a system to target Americans most in need during emergencies. So instead, the United States flooded the entire small business sector with money.
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The report notes that this may have been necessary, but only because the United States was not prepared with a better system in place for a more targeted relief programme.
The study found that each job provided by PPP loans cost taxpayers between $170,000 and $257,000.
According to the study, between 2 to 3 million job opportunities were created through the relief program.
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Click here to read the full report.
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