“Norquist’s Anti-Spending Group Took Small Business Relief,” reports Bloomberg. The Ayn Rand Institute also took out a Paycheck Protection Program loan somewhere between $350K and $1 million. The Daily Caller and PragerU also allegedly obtained PPP loans, according to Small Business Administration data.
LOLs all around from our unbiased press. Oh, the hypocrisy! Jonathan Swan notes: “Lotta folks who make a living banging on about how “big government sucks” got themselves some sweet PPP money.”
Whether those who bang out these columns are hypocrites or not, doesn’t change the underlying argument about big government sucking any more than a highly paid New York Times columnist taking his sweet tax cut changes the arguments about taxation. I’d wager that many small-government conservatives believe that a pandemic is one of the few times the citizenry needs serious state help. Especially given that it was the government that forced The Ayn Rand Institute and others to shutter their doors. It was government that stopped them from “making a living.” If the state can demand everyone live by its edicts, surely these institutions can be excused for using government to try counterbalance the harm done.
(This post originally listed Turning Point USA as being a recipient of a PPP loan, but the group rejected relief after applying for it.)