Originally published September 23 2005
Government loans helping small businesses recover from post-9/11 recession
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Small businesses across the country are taking advantage of a federal program for small businesses hurt by the terrorist attacks. Up to 300 businesses in Georgia, hundred of miles away from ground zero, are taking the government up on the offer.
Janice Herrington's day care center in Stockbridge wasn't affected by the terrorist attacks hundreds of miles away in New York and Washington on Sept. 11, 2001.
But like hundreds of other Georgia business owners, and thousands around the nation, she was able to secure a government-backed loan through a federal program for small businesses hurt by the attacks.
So did Valdosta veterinarian Jeff Creamer, Hawkinsville real estate and golf course developer Larry Dunaway, and hundreds of other Georgia entrepreneurs whose businesses range from restaurant franchises to independent beauty salons _ all far removed from the devastating attacks of four years ago this Sunday.
While some businesses at New York's Ground Zero were turned down for the loans, 303 businesses in Georgia won more than $108 million in low-interest, low-cost government loans aimed at helping those impacted by the attacks, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.
The agency said it first learned of the problems through a national review of the records by AP and vowed to conduct an investigation if needed.
Officials conceded the SBA allocated few resources to oversee the congressionally approved loan program, leaving banks on an honor system to determine who should get Sept. 11 recovery loans.
SBA documents obtained by AP show the banks had a strong incentive to approve as many loans as possible from the terror program _ their costs were reduced in half.
And several times the government loosened requirement to get more loans into the marketplace despite Congress' requirement that businesses show they were directly or indirectly hurt by the Sept. 11 attacks.
The list of Georgia loan recipients was surprising to University of Georgia economist Jeffrey Humphreys.
That affected the fees he got from boarding pets and from performing other services _ shots, nail clipping and the like _ that people tend to have done to their pets while they are being boarded.
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