Bell’s Explains How PPP Loan Helped Save More Than Jobs

Crazy times we live in. That has become a recurring theme for just about everything we read these days, and for me, personally, seems like it permeates every thing I write these day.  No matter the topic, virtually every partisan seems to be able to twist that topic for their own particular agenda.

The Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program has come under a lot of scrutiny. Everyone with an cause is poring over the lists of applicants that were granted loans, and looking for something to raise a stink about; for example, conservatives who hate the Michigan Education Association have the MEA in the sights.

The Detroit News did a story on Tuesday on the PPP, and found Bell's received a loan of $7 million dollars. The story quotes Larry Bell as saying the loan helped save 130 jobs, as the pandemic hit at the worst time possible, just as the brewery was readying the release of it's seasonal beer, Oberon. Bell told The News, Bell's lost 38% of its business in late March, because restaurants and bars, including its own, were shut down. Bell says the brewery had 38,000 barrels of beer ready to ship for Oberon Day, and was facing having to buy a large portion of those back.

The loan has been “essential” for the brewery, Bell said: “There were some dark days there … looking at how many people were going to lose jobs." - Larry Bell, in the Detroit News.

The SBA says the majority of the loans granted were for less than $150,000 and the story says the loans accomplished what they were intended for. And the most important part to remember: this is a loan, not a grant.

And the most important thing to remember is, the people who aren't wearing masks and social distancing are bringing the country back down to its knees, precipitating  the second wave we were all fearing and hoping would not occur.