States Continue To Restrict Borrowers Freedom
Legislators in Ohio and other states are continuing to cap payday loans to 36% or lower. The lower interest rates has already forced over 150 payday lenders to close their stores. Politicians in Ohio took away a financial choice that people prefer, and for many, are their only choice.
Many people who use payday loans can’t get a credit card or a personal loan because of their low income status. Wealthy politicians are too removed from Americans under the poverty level to understand the feeling of not being able to pay rent or trapped by overdraft and late fees for bills.
The closing of cash advance stores leaves many people with fewer, less desirable choices such as bouncing checks or high late fees for credit cards.
“You can’t make a payday loan cheaper than the industry does,” said Steven Schlein, a spokesman for the Washington-based Community Financial Services Association of America, which represents lenders.
Mr. Schlein said lenders had left other states that had recently capped rates at 36 percent or lower. “Consumer choice has always worked best,” he said. “That’s what drives prices down, not eliminating competition.”
The freedom of choice to make financial decisions for ourselves is being taken away by politicians who think that grown adults are incapable of taking care of themselves.
If politicians really cared about the financial well-being of middle and lower class citizens they would stop wasting tax dollars on needless government spending and set the economy right. The best way to eliminate the need to borrow money from payday lenders is a healthy economy.
