A group of organizations that condemn taxation and government spending werent so circumspect when the supposed gravy train pulled into their stations. They eagerly climbed aboard, taking several million dollars worth of loans under the Paycheck Protection Program that they wont have to repay if they retain their work forces.

The money was included in the initial CARES Act, the $2 trillion emergency relief package that Congress passed to mitigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a May 1 statement by Citizens Against Government Waste, the CARES Act is stuffed with wasteful and unnecessary spending. Apparently, loans of up to $350,000 that the organization obtained do not fit either category.

Grover Norquist, founder of Americans for Tax Reform, condemned a provision of the law that provides supplemental unemployment benefits for laid-off workers. He did not voice any objection, however, to the Cares Act provision under which the organization borrowed up to $300,000.

The Ayn Rand Institute, named for that conservative champion of rugged individualism, received a loan from the collective people of the United States of between $350,000 and $1 million, calling it partial restitution for government-inflicted losses.

It would be a terrible injustice for pro-capitalists to step aside and leave the funds to those indifferent or actively hostile to capitalism, said institute board member Harry Binswanger. Indeed, every federal dollar that the institute claims for itself is one that cant unjustly go to someone who actually needs it. Its a wonder that the institute didnt think of that sooner.

If such hypocrisy were a vaccine, COVID-19 would have been vanquished before Atlas decided to just shrug and take the cash.

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Climbing aboard the PPP train | Opinion | citizensvoice.com - Wilkes-Barre Citizens Voice