Speaker 1: Hi. This is Milan Vervier and this is Kim Azarelli.
Speaker 1: We are co authors of the book Fast Forward, How
Speaker 1: Women Can Achieve Power and Purpose. And you're listening to
Speaker 1: Seneca Women Conversations on Power and Purpose, brought to you
Speaker 1: by the Seneca Women Podcast Network and I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Welcome to this special edition. During these difficult times, we're
Speaker 1: talking to experts who can help us gain perspective on
Speaker 1: the coronavirus, as well as your tips, resources and some
Speaker 1: much needed inspiration. Today I'm joined by Mary Miller. Mary
Speaker 1: was the first woman to serve as the Under Secretary
Speaker 1: for Domestic Finance at the U. S. Treasury Department. Mary
Speaker 1: also helped lead our economies recovery from the two thousand
Speaker 1: and eight financial crisis. Current lea, she's running for mayor
Speaker 1: of Baltimore, her home of thirty four years. Mary, thanks
Speaker 1: so much for joining us on all the meteor and
Speaker 1: talk to you today. We are at this unbelievable moment
Speaker 1: um in recent history. We are experiencing an unprecedented health crisis,
Speaker 1: and now it seems that we are going to be
Speaker 1: experiencing a pretty significant economic crisis. You have a unique
Speaker 1: perspective given your role during the two thousand and eight
Speaker 1: financial crisis. How is this moment different or the same
Speaker 1: as two thousand eight. This moment is the same as
Speaker 1: two thousand and eight in that I think we can
Speaker 1: expect a pretty deep recession. Hopefully it will be a
Speaker 1: relatively short recession as we had in two thousand eight
Speaker 1: oh nine. We don't know yet, but ideally this will
Speaker 1: be a short hit to the economy that we can
Speaker 1: recover from later this year. It is also the same
Speaker 1: in terms of the strong federal government fiscal response, in
Speaker 1: terms of the size and scale which the federal government
Speaker 1: is coming to the rescued here. It is different in
Speaker 1: that the two thousand and eight financial crisis was more
Speaker 1: slow moving, with a lot of warning signs coming in
Speaker 1: two thousand and seven into the first half of two
Speaker 1: thousand and eight, with the real impact being selves in
Speaker 1: the third and fourth quarters of two thousand and eight.
Speaker 1: This time, we've taken this blow very quickly in a
Speaker 1: matter of weeks, and it's reaching the whole economy with
Speaker 1: direct impact the individuals. The banks for part of the
Speaker 1: problem in two thousand and eight that the banks and
Speaker 1: the housing finance system. This time, the banks are being
Speaker 1: asked to be part of the solution, with a lot
Speaker 1: of the relief aid being driven through the banking system.
Speaker 1: So those are the ways that I think this is
Speaker 1: the same. But also this is quite different. So it
Speaker 1: does seem that, um, this is hitting main street very
Speaker 1: quickly for obvious reasons. I think, Um, do you think
Speaker 1: the stimulus package as designed will be effective and can
Speaker 1: you sort of give us your perspective on it. Yes,
Speaker 1: I think the fiscal stimulus package is good in the
Speaker 1: breath of what it's trying to address. The direct assistance
Speaker 1: to individuals who have lost their jobs and their income,
Speaker 1: the assistance to small businesses, the assistance to state and
Speaker 1: local governments, and of course the healthcare providers. So I
Speaker 1: think that it is good in terms of trying to
Speaker 1: reach the parts of the economy that have been most
Speaker 1: affected by this. In terms of getting cash into the
Speaker 1: hands of individuals, what is the goal and how realistic
Speaker 1: is it to get money into the system quickly. So
Speaker 1: the fiscal assistance provides a number of things to individuals.
Speaker 1: There are direct cash payments of twelve hundred dollars to
Speaker 1: an individual, five dollars to children, and that money is
Speaker 1: intended to put some direct uh financial assistance into the
Speaker 1: hands of people, and at a macro level, it's it's
Speaker 1: a lot of money. It's not enough to get people
Speaker 1: through a month long crisis, but it's helpful. The questions
Speaker 1: turn around the speed with which the dollars will reach people.
Speaker 1: If you're connected to the tax filing system and the
Speaker 1: banking system, you'll get your money faster than if you
Speaker 1: are not, so there are some equity issues in terms
Speaker 1: of how quickly these dollars will get into people's talckets.
Speaker 1: The unemployment insurance extension and increase are very helpful to
Speaker 1: people have lost their jobs. There are more weeks that
Speaker 1: you can collect unemployment insurance benefits and the federal government
Speaker 1: is putting in additional six hundred dollars a week on
Speaker 1: top of the normal payments, so that's quite helpful to individuals.
Speaker 1: There are other pieces like the laying tax filing dates
Speaker 1: to July that will give people from relief. There's also
Speaker 1: a systance in asking um the banking system to differ
Speaker 1: mortgage loan payments. There are still you know, equity issues
Speaker 1: and terms of it being challenging for those who work
Speaker 1: off the grid how they're going to you know, connect
Speaker 1: with these financial resources. It's also the case that they're
Speaker 1: available to people who make in the name you know,
Speaker 1: less than certain thresholds, So hiring some people who may
Speaker 1: have lost their jobs as well may not be able
Speaker 1: to receive these benifits. And let's talk about small businesses,
Speaker 1: because we know that small business is the backbone of
Speaker 1: this economy and asking everyone to stay home has resulted
Speaker 1: in I think a pretty unprecedented slow down in small business.
Speaker 1: What does the stimulus package do for small businesses? You
Speaker 1: are correct in that over half of employees in the
Speaker 1: United States work for small businesses, so this is a
Speaker 1: key area for the fiscal stimulus to reach. The flagship
Speaker 1: products is called the pay Text Protection Program, which is
Speaker 1: a new lending facility set up through your bank for
Speaker 1: loans of up to ten million dollars for businesses fewer
Speaker 1: than five hundred employees. The loans themselves will be guaranteed
Speaker 1: by the Small Business Administration and importantly provide loan forgiveness
Speaker 1: if the employer the borrower keeps their employees on the
Speaker 1: payroll for at least eight weeks. And it's also using
Speaker 1: the funds to take some pretty important business expenses like mortgages, utilities,
Speaker 1: et cetera. So this is a really important and new
Speaker 1: learning program. The rollout of it has been rocks put
Speaker 1: up very quickly. The Small Business Administration, which backs the
Speaker 1: BROWN last year, I think, guaranteed about two billion dollars
Speaker 1: of loans and now they're looking at a program that
Speaker 1: is three hundred and fifty billion dollars inside. So as
Speaker 1: you can expect, there's been some uh startup issues in
Speaker 1: terms of putting something of this scale through the system.
Speaker 1: It's also true that many of the banks have restricted
Speaker 1: the borrowers to existing lending relationships, which is cutting off
Speaker 1: this support for other businesses that may not have borrowed
Speaker 1: from that bank before. So I think we're still in
Speaker 1: the early stages of rowing this out. I think it
Speaker 1: can be helpful, but it's still in the works. The
Speaker 1: other programs that have been rolled out includings like emergency
Speaker 1: and injury disaster loans that don't have all the relief
Speaker 1: in the paycheck Protection program, but should be things that
Speaker 1: small businesses should look at. There is a ten thousand
Speaker 1: dollar um immediate relief packages part of the Emergency Injury
Speaker 1: Disaster loans, so that might be something that they should
Speaker 1: look at as well. And I wouldn't forget, you know,
Speaker 1: the regular lending UH potential that's out there through your
Speaker 1: banks and other programs that existed before COVID nineteen. So
Speaker 1: small businesses are really at risk here, and I think
Speaker 1: you need to move very quickly to try to find
Speaker 1: the financial assistance to get through this period. Will be
Speaker 1: back after this break. So we know that women are
Speaker 1: often um disproportionately affected in a crisis. Do you think
Speaker 1: that is going to be the case this time. I
Speaker 1: think women will be disproportionately affected on the economic side
Speaker 1: of this crisis, not so much on the COVID nineteen incidents,
Speaker 1: but we know that women earn lower wages, are more
Speaker 1: represented in the service economy, which has been hit very
Speaker 1: hard by this crisis, and they're often care gifts either
Speaker 1: in their work or at home. I talked to teachers
Speaker 1: today who are trying to teach from home online at
Speaker 1: the same time that they're trying to care for their
Speaker 1: children who are at home from school. Many women are
Speaker 1: also caring for elderly parents who are particularly at risk
Speaker 1: for the COVID nineteen virus. So this is very You
Speaker 1: have a lot to worry about in your own family,
Speaker 1: friends and network, about the healthcare incidents, but you also
Speaker 1: are worried about all the economic impacts. I'd also mentioned
Speaker 1: that the self employed, the so called gig workers, UM,
Speaker 1: may still fall through the craft here. It's good that
Speaker 1: the unemployment insurance benefits have been extended to many people
Speaker 1: that are self employed or self proprietors, but I do
Speaker 1: worry that there are people who are only marginally attached
Speaker 1: to the economy that are not going to be able
Speaker 1: to access these benefits. We've been thinking about that a
Speaker 1: lot also, and particularly thinking about women entrepreneurs UM as
Speaker 1: you talked about that sort of double burden that women
Speaker 1: have always faced. UM. We know that women entrepreneurs have
Speaker 1: had difficulty getting access to capital in the past and
Speaker 1: and um not always, but are often in those service
Speaker 1: businesses that are being shut down. Uh and no fault,
Speaker 1: you know, no fault to their own. So what do
Speaker 1: you recommend for women entrepreneurs? Well, I think this is
Speaker 1: going to be a toss curry because a lot of
Speaker 1: the assistance that's being provided are two existing businesses that
Speaker 1: are revenue producing with employees, and a lot of startups.
Speaker 1: Maybe it's sole proprietors very small may not have existing
Speaker 1: banking relationships or borrowing relationships that will get them in
Speaker 1: the door to get some of this assistance, So the
Speaker 1: programs are not particularly well developed for startups and entrepreneurs.
Speaker 1: I have seen that the venture capital industry itself is
Speaker 1: creating some small grant assistance to start ups. So I
Speaker 1: certainly look at all those channels to see what might
Speaker 1: be out there to help you. But I think coming
Speaker 1: out of this often when we come out of a recession,
Speaker 1: we see a birth of entrepreneurial activity because people don't
Speaker 1: immediately find jobs in the developed economy, and they'll strike
Speaker 1: out on their own to start businesses and be creative.
Speaker 1: So we may see some of that as we come
Speaker 1: out the other side of this economic CRISI just so
Speaker 1: you are now running from Mayor, so you you've kind
Speaker 1: of had a very national perspective in your role at
Speaker 1: the Treasury, and now I think you probably have a
Speaker 1: very local perspective. What are you seeing on main Street?
Speaker 1: And from a local perspective, I guess what I'm seeing
Speaker 1: locally is that we are trying to rate against time. Here.
Speaker 1: The direct hit of this crisis to the local economy
Speaker 1: is very hard, and the assistance that's been developed well
Speaker 1: important and big, and you know, coming, may not get
Speaker 1: to people or businesses quick enough. So I'm very worried
Speaker 1: about not having a stronger local response to bridge this period.
Speaker 1: We're seeing cities and counties across the country use their
Speaker 1: own funds to create direct financial assistance to help individuals
Speaker 1: and businesses, with the expectation that they will be able
Speaker 1: to draw down federal aid later. I think that's a
Speaker 1: really important thing for every city to consider because the
Speaker 1: pain is very real and very now, very local. So
Speaker 1: I've been pushing locally to see if we can't put
Speaker 1: more dollars out there in an immediate way, because we
Speaker 1: know the needs very well at a local level, and
Speaker 1: I think that's what cities across the country are struggling with.
Speaker 1: If I learned anything in my time in the Obama administration,
Speaker 1: it's that your ideas have to be bold, you have
Speaker 1: to be very decisive, and you have to move quickly,
Speaker 1: and you have to make the assistance pretty direct and
Speaker 1: easy to navigate. Complex programs does work against you in
Speaker 1: terms of making it difficult for people to navigate. So
Speaker 1: what I'm hoping to see locally here in Baltimore is
Speaker 1: a stronger local response to try to help bridge. As
Speaker 1: I say, this very difficult period for our citizens. Well,
Speaker 1: obviously the news right now is very somber, and experts
Speaker 1: are predicting some unprecedented it's in our economy. But in
Speaker 1: this moment, is there anything that makes you optimistic or hopeful? Well,
Speaker 1: I think people have to begin by saying, this crisis
Speaker 1: is not my fault and I should ask for help,
Speaker 1: and there's a lot being offered here. I think individuals
Speaker 1: and particularly women, should pay a lot of attention to
Speaker 1: some of the forbearances out there. On your student loans,
Speaker 1: for example, you can defer payment, you can ask your
Speaker 1: bank for help, you can file for unemployment insurance benefits
Speaker 1: if you're eligible, you can differ you know, filowing your
Speaker 1: tax returns this year. So I think you need to
Speaker 1: keep your with about you and recognize that there is
Speaker 1: a lot of assistance being offered and you should take
Speaker 1: advantage of that. I think that we need to be
Speaker 1: prepared for pretty shocking numbers in May in terms of
Speaker 1: unemployment GDP collapsing um and you know, high unemployment rates.
Speaker 1: We have never hit the breaks quite like this before,
Speaker 1: so we're gonna have to stay focused and stay UM
Speaker 1: attentive to what our own these are. At the same time,
Speaker 1: I think we can be reasonably optimistic that this will
Speaker 1: not be a very long recessions And I think we're
Speaker 1: all learning from this pandemic. We should be UM taking
Speaker 1: a lot from what we're doing every day in terms
Speaker 1: of operating virtually. This will change the way we can
Speaker 1: work UM as a country. And I think we should
Speaker 1: notice all the extraordinary generosity that we're seeing from people
Speaker 1: and institutions across the country. They are responding in just
Speaker 1: unprecedented way. And the last thing I would say, and
Speaker 1: I think this is particularly important to women, is to
Speaker 1: really appreciate the importance of your relationships with your friends,
Speaker 1: with your family, with your network, because it's coming through
Speaker 1: in such valuable ways right now. We won't forget this
Speaker 1: time and the way we were on to each other. Mary,
Speaker 1: thank you so much for joining us, and we look
Speaker 1: forward to following what you're doing. Thank you for all
Speaker 1: that you're doing UM in this field, and I'm very
Speaker 1: grateful to have the chance to talk to you today.
Speaker 1: You're listening to Seneca Women Conversations on power and Purpose
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