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Barack Obama  |
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Rob Kailey is a working schmuck with no ties or affiliations to any governmental or political organizations, save those of sympathy.
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Mon Oct 11, 2010 at 09:01:06 AM MST
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| Ed Kemmick, the long-time Gazette reporter and columnist who has turned heads recently for his savage coverage of the Tea Party, turns his sights on the anti-predatory lending initiative moving toward a vote on November 2nd.
Supporters of the initiative (I consider myself one) owe it to themselves to grapple with Ed's arguments, which mostly center on his own concern that this is pretty damn patronizing. I may have some more thoughts later. Ed also attracted that rarest of all prizes -- a coherent comment on a newspaper website from someone writing under the name "Reality Check." Ed; you got this one wrong. Back in the 70s I had occasion to take out my last high interest loan, it was 38% if I remember right. There were finance companies that specialized in this kind of credit, and I had used this company before. The difference was there was a $500 minimum, but you could always make an advance payment for what you didn't need, and you had a monthly payment for 12 or 24 months. You didn't have to come up with the whole nut in 2 weeks. I always paid mine back as fast as possible because there was no penalty for early repayment and I could control how much the loan cost that way. Last time I had to fix my car in Portland so I could get back to Montana for my summer work. Never held a grudge about the interest rate; understood the risk, felt it fair and saw the loans as necessary. The payday lenders and title pawn loan sharks saw a way to make a killing off of vulnerable people; you Ed are an exception, but still got ripped off. There is a better way... Peace to all, Reality Ultimately, I still fall in favor of ending these exorbitantly high-interest operations in Montana. My own preference would be that we find ways to actually compete. I would imagine that if someone figured out how to offer similar loans at a lower cost, they could have a competitive business. Operating such a thing out of a non-profit would probably be a competitive advantage.
Like Ed, I've found myself in places where I wanted to take advantage of a payday loan. The time I tried to take one out, though, I wasn't employed; I was doing contract work. That apparently made me too much of a credit risk and I was denied a loan. I don't remember how I got through that cash crunch, but I apparently did. Given the choice between status quo and abolition of these loans, I'll choose abolition. But I do wish we could find more meaningful short-term credit options for low-income people.
Update -- Ed is getting some strong (and strongly supported) pushback in comments. I'd recommend checking it out. |
| Matt Singer :: Kemmick on Payday Loans |
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