They sure do need to eat. And if the C-levels and the board were thinking ahead, they might have the liquidity to keep those people. Instead they opted for stock buybacks and fat bonuses for themselves. Now they're sitting pretty while all their people are looking at eviction or starvation.
They don't need a bailout. Give the money to the people who actually need it.
It has rigorously zero to do with beaten cliches like "trickle down". I'm stating the fact that these employees are already receiving their salary from these companies and thus, obviously, their livelihood is already ensured and covered by them. Their paycheck is already signed and paid by these employees. There is no magic or hand-waiving.
My statement had nothing to do with the cliche. Why would you apply money to the top of the organizational structure and hope it makes its way down to the employees when you could just pay the employees directly and remove all doubt?
To guarantee it made its way down you'd have to mandate the employer pass it down to the employee using some defined and agreed upon formula, that you'd then have to monitor compliance of and enforce. Or you could mail a check from the IRS which has all the addresses and bank account details. Seems like much less work and much less guess/hope.
They don't need a bailout. Give the money to the people who actually need it.