Small Businesses Need Help Again. But More Stimulus Could Be Risky

“It’s certainly impacting revenue for many of them,” said Holly Wade, executive director of the NFIB Research Center.Read More: How the New COVID-19 Pandemic Relief Bill Stacks Up to Other Countries’ Economic ResponsesWade suggested that the rapid pace of the omicron surge could mean that small businesses see a light at the end of the tunnel soon, but she stressed that many are running on fumes after nearly two years of profound disruption. “Hopefully, this is a very short-lived added stress, but a few months of added stress on top of what they’ve already experienced over the last two years is a challenge, certainly,” she said.The speed with which omicron has torn through the U.S. also means lawmakers would likely be unable to coordinate any additional federal stimulus in time to make a difference; even if Washington weren’t polarized into a state of inaction, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics.“It would be very difficult, if not impossible, for lawmakers to pass a piece of legislation providing support for small businesses quickly enough to make a difference,” he said.Experts say the lack of an administrative infrastructure for the delivery of federal aid today is the direct result of how Congress responded back in 2020—and lawmakers’ inability to conceive of the pandemic as a social and economic inflection point rather than a short-term emergency.