ProgressOhio

Ohio Christian Alliance Apparently "Didn't get that memo!"

According to an article in yesterday's Columbus Dispatch, the Ohio Christian Alliance (OCA) has decided to sell out and endorse the usurious lending practices of Ohio's predatory payday lending industry! Despite the overwhelming support for passage from the Ohio Council of Churches, the West Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church, the Catholic Conference of Ohio, and the Vineyard Church of Columbus, among others, the OCA is urging their supporters to vote against one of the most pro-consumer lending bills in the country.

See press release regarding Faith Leaders press conference from IS 391% TOO HIGH? VOTE YES ON 5 COMMITTEE: http://www.yesonissue5.com/documents/Faith%20Leaders%20Release.pdf

From the Columbus Dispatch:

"The Christian Alliance has produced a voters guide advocating a "no" vote on the referendum and the continuation of the 391 percent annual interest rate ($15 per $100 on a two-week loan) charged by payday lenders."

The reasoning for their endorsement of predatory lending is puzzling:

"Job loss is not mentioned in the alliance's voter's guide. Instead, it says Issue 5 would eliminate a valued credit choice for Ohioans, infringe on personal privacy by requiring that borrowers' names be put into a database, and limit consumers to four payday loans a year."

It appears the Ohio Christian Alliance hopes to ensure that Ohio consumers and their parishioners are trapped in a never-ending cycle of payday loan debt and has the wonderful "choice" of 391% APR interest. According to the trustworthy Merriam-Webster dictionary, usury is defined as "an unconscionable or exorbitant rate or amount of interest."

The Ohio Christian Alliance apparently believes that 391% APR doesn't fit into that category.

To read more about the Christian Alliance's decision, click here: http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/10/06/payday.html?sid=101

Memo to the Ohio Christian Alliance:

There are over 300,000 Ohioans trapped in payday loan debt EACH year!

Payday lending strains our social services sector and strips wealth from our families and communities.

Payday lenders charge usurious interest rates most often equaling 391% APR.

Payday lending was enabled by a legislative exemption from Ohio's usury laws in 1996.

Over 1,130 of Ohio's 1,600 predatory payday-lending shops have applied with the Ohio Department of Commerce to operate under the new law, suggesting that the "jobs" argument is a con job of its own!

Payday lenders use an UNSECURED database that contains unnecessary and invasive information about their consumers.

Vote YES on Issue 5!