The Paycheck Protection Program Has Run Dry, and Voter Support for Government Aid to Many Industries Is Fading

By the time the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program ran out of money for most borrowers last week, it had distributed billions of dollars to companies across the country, providing much-needed aid to local economies as they ground to a halt last year amid the raging coronavirus pandemic.

Throughout the PPP’s lifespan, the ideas behind it have resonated with voters. But over time, voter backing for the federal government aid to certain industries has decreased nearly across the board, although assistance to some businesses remains popular, a new Morning Consult survey shows. 

Net support for other hard-hit industries during the coronavirus pandemic also dropped substantially: Hotel companies saw an 8-point drop in net support and airline companies’ net support for federal aid fell 10 points.

While support on an industrywide basis has fallen, U.S. voters still largely believe that the economy needs a boost. More than half (55 percent) agreed that the country’s economy is still hurting and needs more stimulus from Congress to recover quickly, compared to the 31 percent who feel that the country’s economy is recovering quickly and doesn’t need additional assistance from Congress. 

Between the two choices, results were split among Republican voters: 43 percent said the economy doesn’t need more assistance, while 42 percent said that it does.

Democrats were more likely to say that the economy needs more assistance (68 percent) compared with 22 percent who said it doesn’t need more, while independent voters were also more likely to say more economic help is needed, 51 percent versus 31 percent.