Paycheck protection program will reduce scarring

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) of forgivable small business loans has come too late to prevent the huge initial wave of layoffs, but will be more useful in helping less directly affected firms stay afloat while limiting the rise in unemployment. By reducing the scale of economic dislocation, an expansion of the program would raise the prospects of a more rapid economic rebound, albeit at the cost of an even larger increase in the Federal budget deficit.