A Fresh Look at Where $5.7 Trillion in Stimulus Money Went (Think Fraud)

$5.7 in stimulus. Image from video clip.

New Rule: American Kleptocracy | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)

Except where noted, the following images are video clips.

Improper Payment Rate Department of Labor

$1.63 billion could have been paid improperly, attributable to fraud, likely higher

Fake Farms

Hundreds of PPP Loans went to fake farms.

Tom Brady’s Company Received $960,000 PPP Loan

Tom Brady’s TB 12 Company Received a $960,000 PPP Loan
“Almost none of the money was used to feed children.”

New York Times Claim

Only about a quarter of the money spent went to wages that would have been lost.

The Real Heroes 

Senators Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema put an end to the nonsense

Bill Maher Quotes

  • “You might want to look at how much of the trillions of dollars of in free government Covid relief money was just flat out stolen. 
  • “All told $5.7 trillion laid out
  • “Let’s just look at what happened after the forever flu hit America and Washington’s answer was a mountain of money and a sign that said come steal it.
  • “ID.me stands by it’s estimate of $400 billion in fraudulent claims ffor unemployment insurance. That’s almost half of it. 
  • “$2 million got sent to one address. What was the job that guy was out of?
  • “Republicans at least used to pretend to be the mean old men who watched your money. But now, nobody from either party even pretends to.
  • “Defunding the police is a bad idea. So is de-policing the fund.
  • “Kanye West received $2 million so he could continue to make the worlds ugliest shoes
  • “There’s an old adage that government cannot transfer money except by means of a leaky bucket. I get that. But when it’s all holes it’s not a bucket anymore. 
  • “The New York Times says it was effectively a windfall for businesses, on the whole a wealthy group

Maher’s Conclusion

“Shouldn’t liberal democrats be the ones most upset about this?” asked Maher.

“If I say the government takes our money and wastes it, people say you sound like a conservative. But I haven’t changed, the hole to bucket ratio, that changed.”

In reference to senators Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema, Maher commented: “These two are seen as the bad guys in their party because they looked at another multi-trillion spending bill and wondered if government was up to the task of taking all that money and not just having it siphoned off by grifters and for bulls**t.”

“Would it surprise you that $6.4 billion in that program earmarked for carbon reduction doesn’t actually mandate any carbon reduction?”

Where Did It Go?

Where did the money go? Where it always goes: Those with first access to it, the already wealthy, the politically connected, and fraud.

It would have been easy for me to get money, legally, but I didn’t. Those with business checking accounts had first access.

I am aware of wealthy fund managers getting money to allegedly make payroll. Yeah, right. 

By the time gig workers out of a job got access, the funds were all used up. I had many suffering friends who really did lose their jobs but had no access because they did not have a business account at a bank.

How Much Free Money Stimulus Still Hasn’t Been Spent?

Income and spending data from the BEA, chart by Mish

On April 22, I asked How Much Free Money Stimulus Still Hasn’t Been Spent?

My article discussed only the direct cash, not the other waste. 

I concluded about $2 trillion (unadjusted, and not annualized) still hasn’t been spent.

Four Measures of Inflation

CPI data from the BLS, PCE data from the BEA, chart by Mish.

CPI Rips Higher to 8.5 Percent From a Year Ago, the Most Since 1981

For discussion of the above chart, please see CPI Rips Higher to 8.5 Percent From a Year Ago, the Most Since 1981.

And this administration has the gall to claim it’s programs did not add to inflation.

Please watch the video. It will be an eye opener for most.

This post originated at MishTalk.Com.

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RonJ
RonJ
1 year ago
“And this administration has the gall to claim it’s programs did not add to inflation.”
Safe and effective. It is all a kingdom of lies, now.
Call_Me
Call_Me
1 year ago
After the trillions that evaporated in the bailouts of ’09, most people should be acclimated to this magnitude of frawd and disappearing money, no? Perhaps the few people that notice the graft just won’t care due to the trivial amount.
Call_Me_Al
KidHorn
KidHorn
1 year ago
Reply to  Call_Me
The 09 bailout was completely different. Banks had to borrow from TARP, but I believe it was all paid back. The real bailout was the FED buying much of the garbage debt. The money went to banks. Not individuals.
Lisa_Hooker
Lisa_Hooker
1 year ago
Reply to  KidHorn
I believe that most of the 2009 money was “returned” and not “paid back.” Most of the banks didn’t want the money in the first place. The money was forced on all the major banks as cover for certain unnamed and about to be insolvent banks.
Call_Me
Call_Me
1 year ago
Reply to  Lisa_Hooker
Yes, there was a lot that was simply returned. Even in that there was plenty of benefit because the interest paid on said loans was pure profit, for example. Some institutions have not paid things back in full and, presumaby, at this point will not. The whole effort was much more than $700B, but even getting to a ballpark number is an exercise in futility.
Some do try to calculate a number, even if it doesn’t mean anything in isolation from the whole picture. Here is one attempt at TARP funds, which shows a net gain at the federal level, but certain firms are in the red and likely to remain so. Those bailout dollars benefitted someone:
Call_Me_Al
Call_Me
Call_Me
1 year ago
Reply to  KidHorn
Fraud, waste, and graft occurred last year and occurred in 2009. Bailouts only had to happen in the sense of perpetuating the present state of the financial system. If the house of cards had collapsed then a (hopefully) more sound system would have taken its place. Regardless, 7 billion people wouldn’t have just sat around in a stupor until they wasted away if a few insolvant banks went under.
A private institution creating dollars to pay interest on ‘loans’ that it gave to financial institutions ,who were given said loans at effectively 0% interest, is not a zero-sum equation. There was more to it than than, but it is incorrect to view it as simply loans were made and then paid back. It was way larger than TALP/TAF. As for the beneficiaries, in the end it was individual people who benefitted via pay/bonuses/stock gains. Of course those in the financial sector are more savy than your average person when it comes to working the system, so it was less direct than simply filling out an application and cashing a check.
Call_Me_Al
Doug78
Doug78
1 year ago
It’s no wonder we had so much real estate bought with cash. Records of who got what were kept hopefully so the next few years should see field days for the IRS, lawyers, financial investigators, fraud specialists, overseas-tax haven examiners, inquisition specialists and whistle-blower compensation managers. The fraud deluge created a lot of big fraudsters who perhaps hadn’t been able to cover their tracks well since the money was huge and the confusion great and has also given us a beautiful reason to look for scapegoats to make up for the less-than-good government Covid performance. Now thanks to Putin the offshore money laundering business has become a matter of national security in all Nato and allied countries so data bases will be merged, cross-referenced and mined for wrong doing giving beautiful opportunities for whatever.
I would expect that this prospect will encourage a move out of bid-upped assets that have left a trail.
KidHorn
KidHorn
1 year ago
What happens when we have a real pandemic? One where 10% of the population dies. Lets just hope everyone in charge of COVID is dead and buried by then. Or else we’re in for a world of hurt.
FromBrussels
FromBrussels
1 year ago
Reply to  KidHorn
I am sure ‘they’ are working on it ….the world was at the end of its wits in 2022, history will show …
Billy
Billy
1 year ago
Reply to  KidHorn
I remember a report from the CDC in 2018 that predicted deaths in 2019 and 2020. Basically, our population was right on par with their estimates. I couldn’t find it in 2020 anymore.
TexasTim65
TexasTim65
1 year ago
Forgot to mention I know at least a couple people who managed to double-dip into the money.
The first guy is a friend who owns a small business. He got the PPP money (50-60K worth) which he technically used to pay wages but in reality used to remodel his house. Since he is a business owner, he pays himself minimum wage ($8/hr) and everything else the business owns/pays for so he was able to get all the child credit cash (a few grand worth) too. So he’s a triple winner (child credit cash, PPP money and his home value went way up after the remodel).
The second guys is a guy I play hockey with. He was laid off from his installer job (floors etc) so he got the normal Unemployment money. Then he got the extra free money the government gave out to the unemployed. Lastly, he started taking jobs for cash since so many people were remodeling homes so he was getting paid 3 ways and was making WAY more money than he ever did prior to being laid off.
FromBrussels
FromBrussels
1 year ago
Reply to  TexasTim65
Ain t life fn great in lalaland !? Where does inflation come from again ? it s bound to get rampant no matter what , that s for sure ….The war with Russia will hopefully save our spoilt western asses ?! Yeah sure !
thimk
thimk
1 year ago
Reply to  TexasTim65
Yes a recently incorporated business with no transaction history ( person sent me a copy of his bank statement with one recent deposit of 150k) , wanted to buy a parcel of land I had for sale . The lawyer i was employing (one/two employees ) stated he got 16 k . Many EIN numbers where issued I believe for fraudulent puposes . Mish you had a write up on this .
With all the data mining/harvesting/multiple data bases/reporting/recording it is a travesty government is so inept that can’t verify a claim.
Why work if you can steal less than $ 900 and not get prosecuted . . Murica land of the free
FromBrussels
FromBrussels
1 year ago
euhmhmmmm aackkkss ….exxcuseeeeee me I was about to commment, acchh…. must ve been that picture of the old corrupt pelusi cu nt making me puukee acchh …sorrry …eucccch tsjachh….
LM2022
LM2022
1 year ago
Reply to  FromBrussels
Don’t worry, I’m sure whatever comment you were about to make would make as much sense as they normally do. Also, you seem troubled.
FromBrussels
FromBrussels
1 year ago
Reply to  LM2022
SURE ….but, who are you ? Your name does not exactly ring a bell to me ….Insignificant…. in other words…
FromBrussels
FromBrussels
1 year ago
Reply to  LM2022
…maybe I AM ‘troubled’ ….a consequence of a crumbling empire, the fn US of fn A , bringing the world to the fn edge of the abyss ….unless one is totally ignorant, one would be ‘troubled’ for less….Don t you agree?
thimk
thimk
1 year ago
Reply to  FromBrussels
Be honest , you just opened your energy bill .
Doug78
Doug78
1 year ago
Reply to  thimk
More likely he opened up his draft notice.
thimk
thimk
1 year ago
Reply to  Doug78
lol , ya russia knock’n on the door . no worries Brussel , Pope Francis wants to meet with Putin , sorry about the late LNG delivery .
FromBrussels
FromBrussels
1 year ago
Reply to  thimk
With a cold winter in the US , there would be NO fn LNG delivery for Europe !…. I really don t know what the US did with our reptile brain EU leaders, I know they are inbred, failed, father to son, national idiots in the first place, yet … what secret substance did the US administer them to become totally deluded ? Was it in the fn ‘life saving’ US invented Vaxxine ? I didn t get one, so I must definitely be one of the few people with some common sense left, ain t I ? So lemme tell you ….WE ARE FN SCREWED ! Globally that is …
FromBrussels
FromBrussels
1 year ago
Reply to  Doug78
Well Doug, I wouldn t mind a draft notice for a good cause in the first place , maybe you do suffer Alzheimer (how very old are you?) , yet I DID share with you my ‘CV’ years ago, we were still on friendly terms then, if you remember anyway, hey, that was even before ‘covid’….I even told you about my father being a member of the belgian armed resistance movement MNR during WW2 , so please STOP being CYNICAL, and face reality, namely that our so called saviour of WW 2 has become a god damn mfng warmonger …..of course, judging by my mothers plight, I do know Alzheimer s got no mercy…..Lemme tell you again though, I am no fn russian, just a too rational fn belgian, K N O W I NG, unlike you and most of msm brainwashed fools, WHAT is going on ! Grts P.
Doug78
Doug78
1 year ago
Reply to  FromBrussels
I notice that you have not joined up so I guess the cause still isn’t good enough. You are just a voice on the internet so your “CV” or your family history has no way of being confirmed. You can claim anything you want but nobody will believe you because that is the internet. Your memory is failing. I have only been here since September 2020 when covid was raging and that you can check. I told you what would happen and it happened. You on the other hand never furnished an once of knowledge or insight. You just vomited out the standard Russian line so often that you became tedious and you still are.
Christoball
Christoball
1 year ago
Reply to  FromBrussels
“euhmhmmmm aackkkss ….exxcuseeeeee me I was about to commment,
acchh…. must ve been that picture of the old corrupt pelusi cu nt
making me puukee acchh …sorrry …eucccch tsjachh….”
I was thinking the same thing just last week, but didn’t quite know how to put it into words. Hang in there buddy, things are not always as bad as they seem, sometimes they are even worse.
TexasTim65
TexasTim65
1 year ago
Where ever it started, it ultimately ended up in the stock market, real estate and crypto/NFTs. It’s why they exploded in value since the start of the Pandemic.
The only reason they are slowing down now is because there hasn’t been any more stimmy money to push things up even further.
Fish1
Fish1
1 year ago
Reply to  TexasTim65
The real estate component of the money dump has a fat tail. Property taxes, maintenance and insurance costs will guarantee that investment will experience a second, more classic, “explosion” about 3 years hence.
TexasTim65
TexasTim65
1 year ago
Reply to  Fish1
For those actually planning to keep the homes yes indeed (unless there is some massive lowering of the tax rate which there may be if there is enough unrest about it due to people unable to pay).
But the flippers made out like bandits. I know a few here who do that (and it seems everyone is trying to get into that game in the last year or so) and they bought homes, slapped on some paint and were flipping for 100, 200K more. They couldn’t get properties closed fast enough. Since they don’t keep the homes, they are the ones who make out like bandits cause they pocketed the cash from the price increases.
Fish1
Fish1
1 year ago
Reply to  TexasTim65
The same here in Calif. However, prices have begun to plateau which is kyrptonite for flippers.
Lisa_Hooker
Lisa_Hooker
1 year ago
Reply to  TexasTim65
“…massive lowering of the tax rate…”
HA
HA HA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA
Perhaps when the Tooth Fairy is cohabiting with the Great Pumpkin.
Nuddernoitall
Nuddernoitall
1 year ago
One day in the future, in a faraway galaxy, protoplasm on the planet XYZ Squared, will check, double check and triple check their store of value currency, to always ensure that it’s put to efficient and proper usage. Meanwhile, back on Earth, no such luck.

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