//PPP loans were supposed to be forgiven. So far, that hasn’t happened.

PPP loans were supposed to be forgiven. So far, that hasn’t happened.

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PPP loans were meant to help small businesses during the pandemic — but for many owners, they’ve created more stress.

Jackie Laundon was already on the phone when I called her, trying to get an answer from her bank about how to get her Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiven. She had been put on hold twice only to be shunted back to the original menu. She had no more clarity than when she’d placed the call 45 minutes earlier. It was the second time she’d tried reaching the bank by phone.

Laundon is a public health consultant in Denver, Colorado, where she works with state and local government agencies as the sole proprietor of the business she started at the end of last year. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, two big contracts were about to end, and she wasn’t