Many economists have suggested that the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, failed Americans on at least one major front: prioritizing lending to business owners in underserved markets. The Small Business Administration’s inspector general admitted as much back in May.
The question now is why. Why did just 12% of Black and Latinx business owners who applied for PPP loans report getting what they asked for? Why does the Center for Responsible Lending estimate upwards of 90% of businesses owned by people of color have been or will be shut out of the PPP?
The answer is complicated, systemic, and deeply rooted in a norm of occupational segregation that’s plagued American capitalism for centuries. But if there’s anyone who can speak to the PPP’s intersection with economic and racial justice, it’s Joyce Klein, director of the Business Ownership Initiative at the Aspen Institute.
Today on Business Casual, Klein explains the hurdles to accessing capital and achieving economic mobility for minority groups, from racial to gender. If you want to understand…

How traditional banks are failing small businesses in the U.S.

Why future stimulus spending from Congress needs different design

When we might face a systemic failure of small businesses…

Listen to this episode now.