Hacker News Reader

The loan gives them a longer window during which they don't have to shut down. If the business takes a loan and later can't repay it, they go bankrupt. If they can repay it, they stay open. Bankruptcy might result in the loan being discharged and the business remaining open.

The alternative is to close immediately and stop paying their workers. If that were my business, I'd take the loan, especially since it's federally guaranteed.

View on HN

SBA disaster loans all require personal guarantees. So, you can't get run away from the debt by declaring business bankruptcy. You'd also have to declare personal bankruptcy.

not every small business is set up as an LLC, although I'd imagine most restaurants are. sometimes you just can't get the loans you need as an LLC; the lenders want an actual person to go after if the business goes under. if I were running a business under a sole proprietorship, I would have to think pretty hard about whether to take the loan or just cut my losses and move on.

I do feel it's generally inappropriate for the government to just give money to a privately owned business, but this is an extreme case where businesses are going under as a direct result of actions taken by the government (reasonable as they may be). not sure where I stand on this one.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com