A person walks past the closed Midtown Scholar Bookstore in Harrisburg on April 10, 2020.
Kate Landis / PA Post
A person walks past the closed Midtown Scholar Bookstore in Harrisburg on April 10, 2020.
Kate Landis / PA Post
The coronavirus pandemic is having a devastating impact on small businesses throughout Pennsylvania and the country.
When the federal government approved the first stimulus plan it included a safety net for small businesses in the form of Paycheck Protection Program loans.
The plan is for businesses to apply for the loans through participating lenders, who have subsequently been inundated with calls for loan applications. The “system” is overwhelmed leaving small businesses looking for help.
Appearing on Smart Talk to discuss the situation is the National Federation of Independent Businesses State Director Gordon Denlinger.
Also joining Smart Talk to discuss how lending institutions will manage the program and meet the needs of the small business community are Duncan Campbell, president and CEO of the PA Bankers Association, along with Centric Bank President and CEO Patti Husic.
When Governor Wolf ordered all nonessential businesses to close in mid-March, construction and road work stopped as they were deemed nonessential.
State legislators are now pushing for exemptions to reopen construction projects, as Pennsylvania is the only state to shut down all active public and private construction sites.
Joining Smart Talk to talk about proposed bills being introduced is PA Post reporter Ed Mahon.