evidence: Unlike the 2008 bailout packages, which funneled hundreds of billions to Wall Street and padded executives already-cushy pay packages, the CARES Act was shot through with provisions that lawmakers said would ensure that federal funds actually went to those in need. Any money loaned through the new $500 billion Federal Reserve program, for example, came with oversight measures, limits on stock buybacks and caps on executive compensation. [...] While few dispute that an ambitious federal bailout package was necessary to help the country confront dueling economic and public health crises, it’s clear now that Congress’s massive outlay of cash has been often inefficient, helping to exacerbate the already-yawning wealth gap in the United States while leaving the neediest in the lurch during the worst unemployment crisis since the Great Depression. This package, devised and promoted as a mechanism to alleviate inequitable suffering during the pandemic, may end up playing a role in exacerbating it in the immediate future. [...] Almost three months after President Trump signed the CARES Act into law, some of the most anticipated programs are finally getting off the ground. On June 15, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin announced lenders could begin registering for the Main Street Lending Program (MSLP). Like PPP, the MSLP will administer federally-backed loans, but expands the eligibility requirements to encompass businesses with up to 15,000 employees or $5 billion in revenue. (Unlike PPP, the loans are not forgivable). While the program is not yet operational, the use of banks as intermediaries could potentially mean a repeat of the anger that surrounded PPP recipients.