{"id":42013,"date":"2020-10-22T11:22:02","date_gmt":"2020-10-22T18:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=42013"},"modified":"2020-10-22T11:24:18","modified_gmt":"2020-10-22T18:24:18","slug":"stimulus-package-dealers-ponder-relief-options-as-election-approaches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/feature-articles\/2020\/10\/stimulus-package-dealers-ponder-relief-options-as-election-approaches\/","title":{"rendered":"Stimulus Package: Dealers Ponder Relief Options as Election Approaches"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

As Election Day fast approaches, with less than two weeks\nremaining, President Trump and Congress find themselves in the unique position\nof agreeing that American workers and the business community are in need of\nanother round of stimulus relief. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a fluid process that seems to change by the hour, a\nconcerted effort is underway to pass a relief bill prior to Nov. 3. House\nSpeaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have held hour-long\ndiscussions this week and are finding more common ground, particularly in\nregards to bill language and the size of the bill, plus consideration for\nCOVID-19 testing and tracing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Tuesday, President Trump told Fox News he would be\nwilling to exceed the $2.2 trillion package sought by Democrats. That\nrepresented a major shift; Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell earlier said\nwouldn\u2019t put the higher package on floor, because 52 of 53 Republican senators\nonly want a $500 billion package. But on Tuesday, McConnell changed course and\nsaid if the White House and Speaker Pelosi agreed, and the bill passed the\nHouse, he would bring it to a vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senate Republicans are keen to renew the paycheck protection\nprogram (PPP), which provided forgivable loans to small businesses that kept\ntheir workers employed. A bill that would provide $258 billion and enable small\nbusinesses\u2014even ones that received a loan in the first round to apply for a\nsecond loan\u2014failed to get the 60 necessary votes on Tuesday. A vote on another,\nscaled-down bill including the PPP, failed on Wednesday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It seems certain that partisan posturing is likely to give\nway to relief for millions of Americans in the next week or so. But our State\nof the Industry look at legislative issues of importance to the office\ntechnology dealer community reveals that while programs like PPP are\nappreciated and necessary, they only serve as a bandage without treating the\ninjury to the U.S. economy itself\u2026and the need for complete and unfettered\nbusiness resumption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Immediate Action<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Gregg Petrie, Copiers Northwest<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Still, dealer executives are not discounting the importance of PPP relief. \u201cThe PPP did what it was supposed to do by helping a lot of businesses stay open and allowing their employees to meet their obligations such as paying rent, mortgages and other bills,\u201d noted Gregg Petrie, president of Copiers Northwest in Seattle. \u201cWith uncertainty around COVID-19 remaining, I believe Congress needs to provide similar assistance in any future action.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Chip Miceli, Pulse Technology<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Chip Miceli, president and CEO of Pulse Technology in Schaumburg,\nIllinois, felt the first round of stimulus relief didn\u2019t go far enough to help\ncompanies in need of assistance. Providing protection\/relief to businesses will\nhave a salutary effect on the workforce itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOverall, the next relief package should help both employers and\nemployees,\u201d he said. \u201cAny steps that can help businesses remain open will, in\nturn, help to keep people employed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Gary Johnson, WiZiX Technology Group<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Gary Johnson, president of WiZiX Technology Group in Fresno,\nCalifornia, notes that his company utilized the initial PPP funds. Fortunately\nfor WiZiX, business has picked back up and the dealer is performing well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t given much thought as to what we need,\u201d he said.\n\u201cI would like to see (relief) focused on the smaller businesses and not focused\non direct payment to employees.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Americans need to get back to work en masse in order for the\neconomy to get moving again and put an end to the carnage of business, notes\nPaul Archer, president of Denver-based Automated Business Products. With\nthousands of businesses failing during this period, Archer is concerned about\nthe impact of adding so much debt will have on the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Paul Archer, Automated Business Products<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve already spent $7 trillion dollars on stimulus, money we\ndon\u2019t have, and the federal deficit has skyrocketed from $19 trillion to about\n$27 trillion,\u201d he said. \u201cOur federal deficit is now more than our annual GDP;\nit\u2019s now about 40% of all the aggregate value of all the assets in the United\nStates. That\u2019s scary when it gets to that level.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paying the\nPiper<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vince Puente, president, sales and marketing for Southwest\nOffice Systems of Fort Worth, Texas, is in agreement with Archer. He wants to\nsee how the American government is going to pay for the stimulus package,\nbecause it \u201ccan\u2019t just keep printing money.\u201d The key, he feels, is creating\njobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Vince Puente, Southwest Office Systems<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can do stimulus to keep the company in business, but\nthat doesn\u2019t create jobs,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you don\u2019t have jobs, businesses won\u2019t\ngrow. You can provide me with $100,000 to employ people, but as soon as that\n$100,000 is out, I\u2019ve got to turn that, because now they become a negative to\nmy bottom line and there\u2019s no activity associated with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStimulus is just another form of welfare, and with welfare\ncomes hooks. You\u2019ve got to be careful what those hooks are. Most of us realize\nbusiness succeeds better when it\u2019s not hooked to the government. That creates a\ncertain dependence. The more welfare and stimulus we get, we become dependent\non that in order to survive, and that\u2019s a dependency on the government. That\u2019s\nnot how the U.S. succeeds.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As Election Day fast approaches, with less than two weeks remaining, President Trump and Congress find themselves in the unique position of agreeing that American workers and the business community are in need of another round of stimulus relief. In a fluid process that seems to change by the hour, a concerted effort is underway to pass a relief bill prior to Nov. 3. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have held hour-long discussions this week and are finding more common ground, particularly in regards to bill language and the size of the bill, plus consideration for COVID-19 testing and tracing. On Tuesday, President Trump told Fox News he would be willing to exceed the $2.2 trillion package sought by Democrats. That represented a major shift; Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell earlier said wouldn\u2019t put the higher package on floor, because 52 of 53 Republican senators only want a $500 billion package. But on Tuesday, McConnell changed course and said if the White House and Speaker Pelosi agreed, and the bill passed the House, he would bring it to a vote. Senate Republicans are keen to renew the paycheck protection program (PPP), which provided forgivable loans to small businesses that kept their workers employed. A bill that would provide $258 billion and enable small businesses\u2014even ones that received a loan in the first round to apply for a second loan\u2014failed to get the 60 necessary votes on Tuesday. A vote on another, scaled-down bill including the PPP, failed on Wednesday. It seems certain that partisan posturing is likely to give way to relief for millions of Americans in the next week or so. But our State of the Industry look at legislative issues of importance to the office technology dealer community reveals that while programs like PPP are appreciated and necessary, they only serve as a bandage without treating the injury to the U.S. economy itself\u2026and the need for complete and unfettered business resumption. Immediate Action Still, dealer executives are not discounting the importance of PPP relief. \u201cThe PPP did what it was supposed to do by helping a lot of businesses stay open and allowing their employees to meet their obligations such as paying rent, mortgages and other bills,\u201d noted Gregg Petrie, president of Copiers Northwest in Seattle. \u201cWith uncertainty around COVID-19 remaining, I believe Congress needs to provide similar assistance in any future action.\u201d Chip Miceli, president and CEO of Pulse Technology in Schaumburg, Illinois, felt the first round of stimulus relief didn\u2019t go far enough to help companies in need of assistance. Providing protection\/relief to businesses will have a salutary effect on the workforce itself. \u201cOverall, the next relief package should help both employers and employees,\u201d he said. \u201cAny steps that can help businesses remain open will, in turn, help to keep people employed.\u201d Gary Johnson, president of WiZiX Technology Group in Fresno, California, notes that his company utilized the initial PPP funds. Fortunately for WiZiX, business has picked back up and the dealer is performing well. \u201cI haven\u2019t given much thought as to what we need,\u201d he said. \u201cI would like to see (relief) focused on the smaller businesses and not focused on direct payment to employees.\u201d Americans need to get back to work en masse in order for the economy to get moving again and put an end to the carnage of business, notes Paul Archer, president of Denver-based Automated Business Products. With thousands of businesses failing during this period, Archer is concerned about the impact of adding so much debt will have on the country. \u201cWe\u2019ve already spent $7 trillion dollars on stimulus, money we don\u2019t have, and the federal deficit has skyrocketed from $19 trillion to about $27 trillion,\u201d he said. \u201cOur federal deficit is now more than our annual GDP; it\u2019s now about 40% of all the aggregate value of all the assets in the United States. That\u2019s scary when it gets to that level.\u201d Paying the Piper Vince Puente, president, sales and marketing for Southwest Office Systems of Fort Worth, Texas, is in agreement with Archer. He wants to see how the American government is going to pay for the stimulus package, because it \u201ccan\u2019t just keep printing money.\u201d The key, he feels, is creating jobs. \u201cYou can do stimulus to keep the company in business, but that doesn\u2019t create jobs,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you don\u2019t have jobs, businesses won\u2019t grow. You can provide me with $100,000 to employ people, but as soon as that $100,000 is out, I\u2019ve got to turn that, because now they become a negative to my bottom line and there\u2019s no activity associated with it. \u201cStimulus is just another form of welfare, and with welfare comes hooks. You\u2019ve got to be careful what those hooks are. Most of us realize business succeeds better when it\u2019s not hooked to the government. That creates a certain dependence. The more welfare and stimulus we get, we become dependent on that in order to survive, and that\u2019s a dependency on the government. That\u2019s not how the U.S. succeeds.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":42014,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1650,82,87,1638],"tags":[2061,2316,3521,3009],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42013"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42013"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42013\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42015,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42013\/revisions\/42015"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}