Two years into COVID, was $800B payroll aid plan worth it?

By JOSH BOAK
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump rolled out the Paycheck Protection Program to catapult the U.S. economy into a quick recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. President Joe Biden tweaked it to try to direct more of the money to poorer communities and minority-owned companies. Now, almost two years after the program made its debut, what did taxpayers get for the $800 billion? The Biden administration says its version of the program helped prevent racial inequality from worsening. But a prominent academic study suggests the overall price tag was high per job saved and most of the benefits went to the affluent.