Wall Street is setting records even as millions of Main Street businesses struggle to stay alive, so what’s Congress doing?  Sneaking legislation onto the Defense Authorization Act that makes life easier for big New York City banks by shifting their money laundering responsibilities onto Main Street businesses.

The legislation, authored by Caroline Maloney (D-NY) and Maxine Waters (D-CA), accomplishes this remarkable task in two simple steps:  1) relieve banks of some of their current anti-money laundering responsibilities; and 2) impose onerous new requirements on the struggling Main Street employers.  As a result, the struggling restaurant down the street will need to …

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Negotiations over the next COVID-19 relief package are in full swing – finally! – and the business community has united around one key must-pass item:  Restoring congressional intent and avoiding a $120 billion tax hike on Main Street business by clarifying the correct tax treatment of PPP loans.

That’s the message conveyed today by today’s letter initiated by the Associated General Contractors and signed by 564 national and state-based trade groups.  564!  That’s got to be a record, and the fact those signatories were gathered in the matter of just two days should send a very emphatic signal to Congress …

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The Washington Post is reporting on yesterday’s court-ordered PPP loan data dump by the Small Business Administration.  In a rush to support a breathless income inequality headline, they forgot to report on the real purpose of PPP — covering employee payrolls.

Here’s the key graphic:

The top 1% percent of PPP borrowers got 25% of the loan amounts?  Sounds bad.  But is it?

The primary goal of the PPP was to keep workers on payroll and off UI.  To that end, the PPP funded more than 5 million business loans, the amount …

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