Big stopgap measure
Small business owners seem to have a new friend in Senator Charles Schumer. The New York-based politician wants to compensate for our nation’s credit freeze by creating an emergency loan program aimed at little companies.
Expect Schumer’s efforts to either pay off really quickly or not at all, since Reid J. Epstein reports that the program is intended “to serve as a bridge until funds kick in from the $700-billion federal bailout for Wall Street banks.” That window is expected to be two to three months in length.
As for the amount of money that would be involved, look for sums of at least $20 billion to get discussed. And the loans would go through the Small Business Administration, in case you’re wondering what agency would have its named attached.
Think this is a case of too little, too late? Or too much, too early? Schumer claims, “If you did nothing, you’d lose permanently thousands of small businesses.”
With that possibility looming, he may receive all sorts of support. On the other hand, people are paying a great deal of attention to how the government spends their money, so don’t be surprised if some opposition rises, too.
