When Allentown first announced that they would be handing out $ 1/2 million dollars of federal aid to small businesses as part of the Covid-19 stimulus program, I expressed some doubts about how it would be distributed.
The handout is now complete, and the Morning Call linked to the recipient list. Although I don't have issue with the majority of the beneficiaries, ten of them do have this tax payer shaking my head.
These ten I consider either professionals, or others not really affected by the shut-down. I will not mention names, but rather professions.
1. Ob/Gyn MD
2. Optometrist
3. Podiatrist
4. Chiropractor
5. Lawyer
6. Architect
7. Surveyor
8. Radio Station
9. Translator (who works from home)
10. Accountant
Each of the above received $5,000 dollars, except the Chiropractor, who got $4,600.
I wonder if a blogger would be eligible?
I'm not sure why you're drawing a distinction between professionals and non-professionals. Many of those professions had their ability to see their customers temporarily disrupted, and with new restrictions on their ability to see their customers going forward. For instance, I don't believe the OBGYN can have a waiting room filled with patients, which will surely impact the number of patients they can see each day. That will affect their bottom line.
ReplyDeleteOther professionals may be experiencing a reduction in cash flow because of the financial condition of their clients. If they bill their customers for their service, they might not be getting paid as fast as usual if their customers are struggling.
The real questions are how many businesses applied, how many were turned away, and what was the process to make that decision.
And since we're talking about Allentown, it would be wise to compare the list of those who received the funds with a list of past (and future) political donors to those in City Hall.
unknown@6:44, the virus interrupted business as usual for everyone. However, some were interrupted much less.... I can assure you that pregnant women were examined, and that babies were born. Although I did recognize some city hall cronies, I found the list representative of the small business community. As noted by the post, I do question the professionals included.
ReplyDeleteIs it at possible that some of these grant recipients also received Federal stimulus grants ?
ReplyDelete