For Some Franchisees, The CARES Act Falls Short

In March, the White House approved a historic $2.2 trillion relief program to bail out businesses and individuals affected by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The CARES Act includes a number of provisions aimed specifically at keeping small businesses, including franchise locations, afloat. But the bailout may not ultimately provide the relief business owners are counting on.

Slate interviewed Rocco Frattaroli, a Dairy Queen* owner in Salinas, California whose business has been shut down for weeks. Frattaroli has applied for the Paycheck Protection Program, one of the CARES Act’s key relief programs for businesses, but even applying for that program has been a headache, and Frattaroli believes it won’t be enough to save his business even if his application is accepted.

Just applying for the aid has been a confusing mess. And it’s clear that even if it comes through, it won’t be enough to keep Frattaroli’s business afloat. So he’s applying to a second federal disaster loan program, which comes with its own set of uncertainties.

These loans—the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program—are where the plan to rescue America’s bars, restaurants, stores, gyms, and other “nonessential” businesses will succeed or fail. Neither will be enough on its own. And it’s possible that even if both do their jobs, we still won’t be able to save communities and livelihoods from being deeply scarred by the ongoing economic catastrophe.

The biggest problem, Slate contends, is that Congress has almost certainly not allocated enough funding for the programs to meet demand.

Until it cuts a bigger check, a lot of small businesses are in a mad dash for rescue money. Making matters worse, even if hard-up businesses do get their share, it might not be enough to keep them alive through the crisis if they’ve been shut down.

One issue is simply the size of the loan: It’s only meant to cover eight weeks of costs. What are businesses supposed to do if shutdowns last longer? Nobody’s sure.

Sadly, those are just a few of the ways the CARES Act is falling short for Frattaroli and business owners like him. 

Head to Slate to read the full article.