How the $2T stimulus bill will impact Americans
Yahoo Finance’s Rick Newman joins the On The Move panel to break down how the new $2 trillion stimulus plan will impact businesses.
Video Transcript
JULIE HYMAN: So Rick, as we look at the various provisions that we know about right now, what stands out to you? It is pretty remarkable the scope of this thing.
RICK NEWMAN: It's a huge package. Just for comparison's sake, the big stimulus bill back in 2009 was around $880 billion, so less than half of the amount we're talking here. So I actually think Congress kind of got this right. I rarely say that. I'm very skeptical of almost everything that happens in Washington.
But I think they learned from some of the mistakes back in 2008 and 2009. I think it's terrific news that those inspector general-- that it sets up an inspector general. Really, I think it's going to continue the inspector general.
It's actually still there from the 2008 bailouts. But that sounds as if that role will be transitioned over to a watchdog role, making sure, you know, companies that don't deserve the bailouts or should not be getting them don't get them and that they go for the right things. This is much more targeted at protecting workers, which was a giant flaw of what happened in 2008 and 2009.
I think there's one very important cautionary note here, which is this is not going to make a big difference in the next few weeks. So it's going to take time for all of this funding and all the other sorts of aid to flow through to the economy. And it's not going to prevent what are sure to be millions of layoffs in the next weeks and months. But I think it will actually do a lot to help come summer and fall.
JULIE HYMAN: Yeah, it was quite interesting that as part of the small business loan provisions that any of that money used for payroll, in particular, will be forgiven, that debt will be forgiven. However, to your point, because there's going to be a lag, will a lot of people get laid off before-- you know, presumably, it's going to take time to get this thing passed, then apply for a loan if you're a small business. And so in the meantime, do you have the cash to pay those people? I think that's going to be a big question.
Rick, one of the other things that-- admittedly a minor thing in this bill, but again, fairly remarkable that the Democrats were able to get this in-- is that President Trump's businesses, and for that matter any business controlled by any government official, I believe, will not be able to get money as a part of this stimulus package, which again, I don't know if that speaks to sort of the-- the power or the urgency of this whole situation.
RICK NEWMAN: I knew you were going to bring that up. And I think that's an amazing provision, and I think it's terrific that it's there. I don't want to over-politicize this, but there is obviously massive distrust about the Trump administration because of all the examples of self-dealing that we know about, all the people who were spending money to stay at Trump's hotel in Washington while they're seeking favors from the government at the same time.
You could argue that this would be a good provision in a bailout bill under any administration. But it will add a measure of confidence that government officials, especially the most senior government officials, are not sort of self-dealing, that this is not a self-generated bailout for the Trump family and their friends.
