Some Ohioans see the light on payday loans
Who would have thought that a state whose legislature and media have been so blatantly against the payday loan industry in recent months would allow a reporter to pierce the veil of insanity with a bit of truth telling? That’s exactly what Adam Burroughs of Wooster, Ohio’s The Daily Record accomplishes in a recently published article. Not only does he allow the critics to voice their concerns, but he gives customers and employees of the industry ample opportunity to show why banning the loans has delivered the floundering state an ill-timed death blow.
Here are the facts. Since legislation passed in Ohio that capped payday loan interest rates at 28 percent annually, numerous faxless payday loan stores have closed and many more employees have been laid off. How many, to be exact? Reports vary, but spokeswoman Lisa Ferguson of Check Into Cash claims that 32 of their stores closed in Ohio – about one third of the company’s total stores. Jennifer Kindel, the market manager for Cashland stores in Northeast Ohio, say they closed 40 locations.
What about the layoffs?
Here’s where the numbers truly get ugly. It’s easy to demonize a business, an organization, a government, etc. It doesn’t have a human face. However, when business is shut down, humans suffer through the loss of jobs. In America’s current economy, finding a replacement job is difficult. They certainly don’t grow on trees. Yet misinformed voters led by misinformed politicians who blindly accept money from organizations like the Center For Responsible Lending and similar “consumer advocate” groups voted 2-to-1 to cap the payday loan rate at an untenable 28 percent annually. The people suffer; click HERE to see how in part two of this article!
You know, with the losses already hitting the country, and the fact that the steel industry has been all but run out of Ohio, you would think the last thing they would want is another industry run completely out of the state. And how does APR apply to payday loans? It is impossible to pay annual interest on a loan that you pay back in a month or less. The only beneficiaries will be VISA and MasterCard – not the citizens of Ohio.