America's plan to save small businesses was doomed from the start

The Paycheck Protection Program was never really designed to save small businesses. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [View on the web]( [Recode]( [Click to view images]( [America’s plan to save small business in the pandemic was flawed from the start]( When Congress passed the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) in the early days of the pandemic, the experiment to support small businesses seemed ambitious. And in the months since, as many of those small businesses have had to lay off, rehire, and lay off workers again, many wonder how well the program was really working. It seems, at the very least, that it was working exactly as designed. Countless small-business owners were denied PPP loans as huge operations like the Los Angeles Lakers got millions. This is actually how it was supposed to work, since the program was designed to keep as many employees on payrolls as possible. Most of the PPP money was disbursed to businesses with more employees. Now that the August 8 deadline for PPP loan applications is nearing, it's possible there will be another round of loans. It's unclear how — or if — the terms could change. Recode's Emily Stewart takes a look at the successes and failures of the PPP, as well as why the program ended up being so controversial. [Click to view images]( [America still doesn’t have enough N95 masks]( Five months into the pandemic, the Trump administration hasn’t taken charge of a supply chain that’s been stretched thin. [ Rebecca Heilweil / [Recode]( ] [Click to view images]( [My patient caught Covid-19 twice. So long to herd immunity hopes.]( Emerging cases of Covid-19 reinfection suggest herd immunity is wishful thinking. [ D. Clay Ackerly / [Vox]( ] [Click to view images]( [SiriusXM is buying Stitcher in a deal worth up to $325 million.]( Scripps bought Stitcher for $4.5 million in 2016 and combined it with Midroll Media, which it bought for $55 million the year prior. [ Todd Spangler / [Variety]( ] [Click to view images]( [Amazon walks back its order for employees to delete TikTok from their phones]( Employees can use the social media app on their phones, after all. [ Jason Del Rey and Shirin Ghaffary / [Recode]( ] [Click to view images]( [Netflix can’t afford a weak sequel]( The streaming giant’s share price has surged as Wall Street keeps betting on booming subscriber growth. [ Dan Gallagher / [Wall Street Journal]( ] [This is Cool Section Title] [Just a whole lot of pretty drone photos.]( [Facebook]( Twitter [Instagram]( [Recode by Vox]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Manage your [email preferences](, or [unsubscribe]( to stop receiving emails from Vox Media. View our [Privacy Notice]( and our [Terms of Service](. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2020. All rights reserved.