Valid points. My argument though is that focusing on these types of cases will result in preventing other, more deserving businesses from getting and using funds. When the SBA threatened criminal prosecution to stop companies that are public, highly profitable and well financed from using PPP the real effect was to scare EVERY business and loans stopped almost immediately. I know a few businesses that need funds that chose to go out of business because the owner “didn’t want to go to jail”.
The thing is, if we don’t want to help companies that conduct stock buy backs during times of plenty, then need help during times of famine, 1. The time of famine or pandemic is not the time to fight that battle. Let’s revise stock but back law later. 2. Honestly, no policy can be designed to handle a global pandemic. This is not a normal time. Let’s leave the blame and moralizing for a few years from now.
Stock buy backs used to be illegal. Maybe they should be again. Or maybe only after a company has passed a financial stress test.
The thing is, the more we design the system for these unexpected edge cases the more complicated it gets. Maybe it just be better to have something like FDIC insurance that all companies buy and kicks in automatically.
The thing is, if we don’t want to help companies that conduct stock buy backs during times of plenty, then need help during times of famine, 1. The time of famine or pandemic is not the time to fight that battle. Let’s revise stock but back law later. 2. Honestly, no policy can be designed to handle a global pandemic. This is not a normal time. Let’s leave the blame and moralizing for a few years from now.
Stock buy backs used to be illegal. Maybe they should be again. Or maybe only after a company has passed a financial stress test.
The thing is, the more we design the system for these unexpected edge cases the more complicated it gets. Maybe it just be better to have something like FDIC insurance that all companies buy and kicks in automatically.