Trump's PPP: Bye, Bye Mom and Pop Stores Hello Big Oil and Ultra Rich Pals

Bye, bye American Pie: Big Oil fuels my campaign

(And, they always stand behind me)

This story centers on Continental Materials, and comes from NPR (reporter: Robert Benincasa) – but it comes as no big surprise: The headline:

Company with Trump ties secures $5.5 million PPP loan — while many small businesses struggle for assistance

Continental manufactures heating and cooling equipment as well as construction products. Now they have qualified for a $5.5 million loan under the Small Business Administration’s (PPP) Paycheck Protection Program even though it had more than $100 million in sales last year.

Continental’s CFO. 

Company CFO, Paul Ainsworth, told NPR that the money from the loan is being used to pay its 445 employees to keep them on the job. According to Ainsworth: “We had planned to furlough people, and we delayed those plans. To the extent that we had to let people go, we’re hiring them back.”

According to SEC filings the company is mostly owned by the family of Ronald Gidwitz, whom Trump appointed as U.S. ambassador to Belgium in 2018. Gidwitz (based mostly in Chicago) served as Trump’s campaign finance chairman for Illinois and he also contributed $1 million to Trump in 2016.

B/L: Even through the company may qualify as a small business under the PPP program and gain the relief check, there are many much smaller businesses around the country that have been unsuccessful in obtaining or even applying for the loans from their banks due to many overlapping restrictions that a big company do not have or that can challenge the loans with teams of lawyers than a “Mom and Pop” small business cannot afford to do.

Now also link this story to Trump, the president who always on the lookout to help his ultra-rich pals, this little tidbit – well actually it’s a very big tidbit — big oil bailout for his billionaire buddies

My 2 cents: It’s not if many of us didn’t know the depth and history and tactics of this corrupt and skilled con-man before his was elected into the highest office in the land or as Gomer Pyle would say: “Surprise, Surprise, Surprise,” well, I am not surprised, and I'm sure many of you are not, either.

The skill of Trump is to keep moving from hot topic or crappy deal (when exposed or reported on) to the next hot topic or crappy deal before all the details overwhelm him – which in this era of massive reporting and such (he now has over 18,000 lies BTW) – it’s nearly impossible to solve on story mystery before bingo – he’s off to a new one – that is his M.O. in nutshell and I do emphasize “nut” albeit in a clever and skilled intricate sort of corrupt mob-like way.

It is nearly impossible to keep up with his shenanigans and now in the massive virus crisis apt to get far, far worse, he does not let up – seems to be nearly calling for massive insurrection across the country – this is bad ladies and gentlemen – very bad and in my lifetime as well as yours, too, is now this worse crisis and President we have ever faced.

Thanks for stopping by.