There was this letter to the editor this morning about a bill in the Arizona legislature to limit payday loans interest to 36% (yes, you read that right) and the payday loan industry is (gasp) complaining. In the letter, this fellow Jeff Albin chats up all of the benefits of having this industry around.
Now, I am not the most religious guy, but I cannot help but think there is a special place in Hell for these modern day "money changers". This topic really gets my dander up... There is a big difference between providing a service and designing a business that is meant to entrap its customers.
Before you start commenting on the intelligence of the people taking the loans and free choice, I will relay my story. I had a highly educated (Masters degree in Physics / BS Mathematics) friend who took out a title loan on his car because the company he was working for shut its doors unexpectedly and did not pay any of its workers. In spite of his awareness of their practices and reading all of the fine print, they still nearly took his car. The whole system is setup to make it difficult to pay off the principle, so they can keep their customers as indentured servants.
Our society has become less economically stable and everyone has greater risk these days (except the very rich). The time has come to heavily regulate these businesses and turn them into legitimate businesses (don't even get me started on how they prey on soldiers who have shipped out to Iraq and Afghanistan). If they cannot be reformed they should be shut down.
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