Where's My Bailout? It Might Be Coming Soon

A frequently heard refrain on Main Street as the U.S. government bailed out Wall Street was this: Hey Uncle Sam, where's my bailout?

If you own a small business, you might be getting your own TARP funding soon. According to Washington Post reporting by David Cho, the White House is considering a proposal to use bailout money for loans to small businesses in the hopes of spurring more hiring.

The plan is to set up a new TARP entity that would allow banks to access funds without restrictions, so they in turn could offer attractive small-business loans. Similar proposals to stimulate bank lending failed because banks were hesitant to tie themselves to TARP restrictions.

The idea that a business loan will convince small-business owners to hire is controversial. SBOs I talk with just roll their eyes at the thought of adding debt and head count with the economic climate so unclear.

For small-business owners reading this, what do you think? Would attractive (presumably low interest) loans convince you to do some more hiring?

Sean Silverthorne

Sean Silverthorne is the editor of HBS Working Knowledge, which provides a first look at the research and ideas of Harvard Business School faculty. Working Knowledge, which won a Webby award in 2007, currently records 4 million unique visitors a year. He has been with HBS since 2001.

Silverthorne has 28 years experience in print and online journalism. Before arriving at HBS, he was a senior editor at CNET and executive editor of ZDNET News. While at At Ziff-Davis, Silverthorne also worked on the daily technology TV show The Site, and was a senior editor at PC Week Inside, which chronicled the business of the technology industry. He has held several reporting and editing roles on a variety of newspapers, and was Investor Business Daily's first journalist based in Silicon Valley.

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