[mikea1]

On the one hand, the S&P 500 has outperformed the FTSE for just about any period in the last five years.

But that’s not necessarily due to the PPP. Stimulus checks and unemployment insurance were the majority of the $2.2 billion effort. European countries were more efficient with their version of PPP (and perhaps general pandemic assistance programs) because they leveraged existing programs that touched payrolls.

From the article:

> Many countries that kept workers in jobs had programmes in place already: some of the most successful—including France, Japan and Germany—simply increased coverage and benefits at the onset of the pandemic.