if we can avoid it, certainly not. It's very transparently only a loan if you fuck it up and can't bail yourself out in time. If you can get back on your feet, it's a relief program, so that's the strong incentive from our board to demonstrate, by way of restoring people to full pay and hours, that we have been sufficiently relieved.
Some people - and the companies they operate - will, given the option, on principle, not take money which they have not earned.
In the event that they did/do accept said money they did not earn, and that money was applied effectively and literally saved their asses in an emergency that they were not properly prepared for - they would never forget it and do whatever it took to repay this money that saved their life because they are grateful.
These examples do exist, I know personally know of some and maybe you do too...or not? But that's what I am getting at: everyone has different morals and values. Further, it's helpful to know what those are (when manifested into the form of a corporation) because then we get to make informed choices about who want to work for and with based on value systems. We vote every day with our feet, our dollars, and our attention.
Would I rather work for an employer who did what it took to navigate the Covid shitstorm on their own dime or the one who needed a lifeline and didn't even have the decency to pay back what was never theirs to begin with? Obviously.
Why do you think people are so interested in this data set? Many are acting on this intel in more ways than you think!
We're VC backed, dude, that "money we haven't earned" ship sailed a loooong time ago.
On the flip side, the way you "pay it back" to your Noble Investors is to keep the ship afloat and deliver a ROI with a healthy and competent team.
Increasing shareholder value and also doing the right thing and coming up with a way to give our furloughed teammates health benefits during a pandemic was, I suspect, an easy decision for senior staff to make. I'm a lowly scientist, I don't get to make those calls -- but you won't hear me complaining about this course we chose, either.
> Would I rather work for an employer who did what it took to navigate the Covid shitstorm on their own dime
I don't know about that. Every accountant I knew urged their clients to apply — primarily because there were so many unknowns — at the worst of it, it seemed like things had a sincere chance of degrading into a real doomsday scenario.
I would argue that it would be outright irresponsible for a company to forgo applying for PPP. I wouldn't want to work for an employer who would choose to go against the advice of their financial advisors because they wanted make a point.
I believe that's why the parent comment had used quotes. It's not a loan, it's a subsidy. Calling it a loan is misleading, because loans are meant to be paid back, and this isn't.
