The US gave employers half a trillion dollars and has no idea how many jobs it saved

The US Paycheck Protection Program was designed by Congress and sold to the public as a way to protect American workers. Since March, the federal government has allocated $659 billion for eligible businesses to spend on essential expenses such as payroll, rent, utilities, and mortgage interest. With nearly 80% of funds released so far—$521 billion as of June 30—the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is “supporting more than 51 million jobs and over 80% of all small business employees, who are the drivers of economic growth in our country,” US Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said on July 6.