Payday Lending Lobby Trying to Buy Election
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Categories: Consumer and Worker Protection, Economic Fairness and Security, Faith and Religion
Categories: Consumer and Worker Protection, Economic Fairness and Security, Faith and Religion
Payday lenders are mounting a huge campaign in Ohio to overturn one of the nation's landmark consumer protections laws, House Bill 545. House Bill 545, which lowers interest rates payday lenders can charge from 391% APR to 28% APR, is now under attack! The payday lobby has spent exorbitant sums of money in other states to protect their profits earned off the backs of the working poor.
In Arizona, the payday lobby has spent over $8.7 million to collect signatures to get an initiative on the November ballot. It's clear that the national payday lobby, CFSA, is behind the initiative, not "citizens of Arizona." Check out this quote from an article in the Arizona Republic: "Grass roots? Nope. Not yet anyway…likewise, nearly every sent of the $8.7 million dumped into a ballot effort benefiting the payday-loan industry has been donated by - guess who? - a trade group representing the payday lenders: the Arizona Community Financial Services Association." You can view the article in its entirety, here: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2008/07/30/20080730initiatives0730.html.
In Virginia, the national payday lobby has spent roughly $20 million to "buy" higher interest rates from the Virginia General Assembly (payday lenders can now charge 592% APR!). You can read about that here: http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news/business.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-07-25-0214.html.
In Ohio, the sole donor to the "citizen referendum" campaign is CFSA, to the tune of $850,000 in less than 6 months.
We can expect millions more to flood in before Election Day in November. Beware Ohio voters! The referendum process allowed by the Ohio Constitution is being hijacked by the payday lending industry.
Tell payday lenders you can't be bought and vote early by refusing to sign petitions being circulated by the industry to keep 391% interest.
In Arizona, the payday lobby has spent over $8.7 million to collect signatures to get an initiative on the November ballot. It's clear that the national payday lobby, CFSA, is behind the initiative, not "citizens of Arizona." Check out this quote from an article in the Arizona Republic: "Grass roots? Nope. Not yet anyway…likewise, nearly every sent of the $8.7 million dumped into a ballot effort benefiting the payday-loan industry has been donated by - guess who? - a trade group representing the payday lenders: the Arizona Community Financial Services Association." You can view the article in its entirety, here: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2008/07/30/20080730initiatives0730.html.
In Virginia, the national payday lobby has spent roughly $20 million to "buy" higher interest rates from the Virginia General Assembly (payday lenders can now charge 592% APR!). You can read about that here: http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news/business.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-07-25-0214.html.
In Ohio, the sole donor to the "citizen referendum" campaign is CFSA, to the tune of $850,000 in less than 6 months.
We can expect millions more to flood in before Election Day in November. Beware Ohio voters! The referendum process allowed by the Ohio Constitution is being hijacked by the payday lending industry.
Tell payday lenders you can't be bought and vote early by refusing to sign petitions being circulated by the industry to keep 391% interest.
Why is ALL the money coming from the people who want to keep charging you 391% -- and none of it from the folks who don't?
The fact is, these are high-risk, ultra, short-term loans. Consumers will be blocked from these payday lenders here in Ohio. What will they do? Will you lend them the money? No. So they will be forced to either do without (whatever it is they need), or seek another avenue - like some shady website or a business in another state.
Nothing is solved by shutting down more businesses in Ohio. It only hurts the people who were employed by those businesses, and the people who did need the short-term loan.
Congrats for driving businesses elsewhere and for forcing our citizens to find even poorer avenues to cover their short-term needs.
And if any consumer had the choice between getting a loan at 28% or 391%, they would choose 28%.
No one is forcing someone to take out a loan at 391%.
No one is forcing an institution to charge 391%.
So explain why banks aren't providing short-term, small loans at 28% interest.
Consumers will have to go somewhere to get their loan when they have to have it. So you want it blocked in Ohio. Where can they go? Where can they get their loan?
H.B. 545 does include "the banks, mortgage lenders, credit card companies and credit bureau(s)".
It includes all lenders who make these types of short term loans.
Check this out:
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