Is anyone going to claim they didn't know we had a problem in advance? This is a additional nightmare waiting to happen. Can we afford it? And who will pay for it? The working stiffs of America. Wake up America, you are getting screwed again by the rich. When will enough be enough?; "For years, the Federal Reserve warned that too many highly risky companies were engaging in fuzzy accounting that bumped up their earnings — making it easier for them to obtain loans. The practice was driving up corporate debt to excessive and worrisome levels, regulators chastised. But now, in its latest effort to keep credit flowing, the Fed has done a remarkable about-face. It essentially endorsed the dubious practice with a program that may serve to bail out some of America’s most leveraged companies." https://myfintale.com/business/fed-is-propping-up-companies-it-had-warned-banks-not-to-touch/
Nobody wants risk in a loan ---- unless they're the ones applying for the loan. And nobody wants to prop up a company ---- unless you own the company or are employed by them. But nobody should want to see a bunch of businesses go out of business, and people go bankrupt, because of the current pandemic-induced economic crisis either. It is what it is. Right now, all things considered, I'd tend towards being more lenient for the exact reason mentioned in the article: "Carey and others also note that the Fed’s motivation — to lend support to even more businesses and to prevent widespread waves of bankruptcy from further hobbling the economy — is understandable." There is nothing to say we can't tighten up lending practices once the current pandemic-induced economic crisis has passed. (And I pray it can/will.) Right now we're really in uncharted territory.
Where are all the numerous posters that always proclaim the individual making minimum wage should have a six month emergency fund? Why should we expect less from multinational corporations, especially ones that have been making poor financial decisions since the last recession to boost shareholder gains. If they never have any repercussions then they will continue to make these decisions. Let them get normal loans — if they are deemed too risky let them fail — they will be replaced.
Perhaps the pandemic is unchartered territory, but businesses over extending themselves is not. Individuals are now learning that living beyond their means with homes/cars they can't really afford isn't a good idea. So, too, should these businesses. Now is not the time to reward bad business practices.
