Sen. Susan Collins is touting the success of the Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan and Paycheck Protection Program in helping Maine small businesses. As the owner of two small businesses in Maine, I don’t agree. It was disheartening to see the lion’s share of early assistance go to publicly traded companies while I could not even get a status on my loan application.

Many small businesses in this state are falling through the cracks because they don’t fit into the cookie-cutter application process. Whether it’s seasonal businesses or sole proprietors that didn’t have a traditional payroll to report, the system lacks the flexibility and capacity to help.

In the mad rush to apply, many businesses, including mine, scrambled to complete the process without really being able to consider if this loan would be the best course of action for them. And in our panic some businesses that could use the money may miss out while others will have loans that might not be forgiven and will just add to their debt.

The lack of communication, planning and oversight around these programs has done far more harm to small businesses than the money will do good. We will be facing another, possibly larger, economic challenge in the fall and winter when the virus returns.

It’s time for our politicians and leadership to start learning from their mistakes and create a better system for small-business support in near future. As a voter, I will support those with the foresight and planning to effectively help small businesses in Maine.

James LaPlante

South Portland

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