Why were PPP loans called loans if nobody was expected to pay them back, instead of PPP handouts?

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I am not commenting on whether or not they should have been. I am not interested in tying them back to discussion of any other loans or loan forgiveness.

Why call them loans if they are not?

In: Economics

34 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

I strongly suspect that it was a budget accounting issue. Categorizing them as loans allows the government to pretend they will be paid back in full, and not count against the cost of the program.

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