They are stacking the deck against the payday lending industry, but we’re fighting back. This Columbus Dispatch story captures the latest:
House leaders said the bill is an effort to deal with the debt trap associated with payday loans: Many borrowers repeatedly take out new loans to pay off old ones.
The industry, which has grown from 106 stores in 1997 to more than 1,600 today, says the bill would put it out of business. Payday lenders are pushing back with:
• More lobbying.
• More phone calls.
Senate offices reported getting between 50 and 150 calls apiece last week from payday-lending employees who, reading from scripts, urged defeat of the bill. “Thank goodness for caller ID,” said one staffer before sending another call into voice-mail.
• More visibility.
In addition to packing the hearing room for proceedings that stretched into last night, about 2,500 payday-lending employees and supporters rallied Tuesday at the Statehouse.
This letter has been sent to most Editors in Ohio.
To the Editor:
Based upon the testimony presented in the Ohio Senate Finance
Committee on May 7, the evidence is overwhelming: Ohio wants and
needs payday loans. The parade of distinguished professors, business
owners, and minority community leaders presented nothing but factual
evidence on the benefits of the product, the pitfalls if it were to
be banned, while debunking the scurrilous falsehoods presented by
opponents.
If the Senate passes SB 545, it would be solely for political
expediency, for which those Senators should be ashamed. We already
see this game at play. Senator Jacobsen, a proclaimed opponent who
repeatedly demonstrated his ignorance during the hearing, replaced a
Committee Member who understood the facts about payday loans.
SB 545 is an ill-conceived piece of nonsense that makes for bad
public policy. While additional consumer protections are necessary
and right, SB 545 is the equivalent of treating dandruff by
decapitation. Meanwhile, Gov. Strickland demonstrates the most
blatant double-standard in Ohio history by proclaiming he is
“protecting the poor” from payday loans, while simultaneously
encouraging them to gamble at Keno.
Senators, do what’s right for Ohio: vote NO on SB 545, and propose
real reform.
Greg Fay
Owner Hometown Cash Advance