So, nearly 2 years ago your organization applied for and received COVID-relief funds. The decision was not an easy one. On the one hand, government largesse invariably comes with strings and uncertainties, i.e., risk. On the other hand, your organization faced an unprecedented triple threat crisis: financial, operational, and health. Consumer spending plummeted and its consequences rippled through the economy threatening to trigger a global financial meltdown. You could not possibly have forecast how the global pandemic would affect your organization.

The government responded with uncharacteristic speed, flooding the economy with easy money. But, even in the midst of this crisis you understood that easy money was not the same as free money. You knew that any time the government spends money to meet a crisis, be it war, natural disaster, or recession, finger-pointing follows. The government, often pressured by the media, can be the Tom Brady of Monday morning quarterbacking, throwing money at a problem and then blaming the recipients for taking it. History has taught you that government enforcement follows government largesse as surely as higher taxes follow deficit spending.

The decision to accept pandemic relief funds in any of their various offerings was especially risky. In its rush to provide relief, the government offered scant guidance concerning eligibility or the application process. There was also an unprecedented level of public questioning about whether...

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