Comments on: Gov Strickland appears on radio program

By: Jen Gehring

Jen Gehring — Fri, 30 May 2008 12:57:32 +0000

Chris, I do believe they will all be remembered at voting time! I was at the Ohio rally and we saw many of them watching us out of their windows. Alot of them were laughing. At us? Don’t really know but it sure looked that way.

Just hope we can all return the favor when they are campaigning for their jobs.

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 30 May 2008 12:21:57 +0000

Critic, you may very well be onto something there.

Hopefully, we can all (owners, staff, customers, family of customers, etc) get together come election time and vote this misguided fool out of office.

By: Hugh Utterback

Hugh Utterback — Fri, 30 May 2008 00:03:03 +0000

I was at the hearings held by the Ohio Senate. John Carey, the Republican Chairman of the Finance and Financial Institutions Committee kept insisting that the payday industry come up with a proposal that would allow them (the Senate) to let us stay in business. What he was inferring was that we come up with a APR reduction that would please them. Numerous witnesses, including myself, explained that the $15 per $100 borrowed was necessary for these kind of high risk loans so that we could make a reasonable profit (9-15%) on the money invested in the business. I specifically gave the committee my revenue and expenses for my two stores from 2007 to show them that even a drop to $14 per $100 borrowed would significantly interfere with making a reasonable profit. Numerous witnesses told the committee that we would be willing to make regulatory changes that would prevent financially unsophisticated citizens from becoming trapped by over-borrowing. We told them that as an industry would be willing to agree to financial education, setting up a state-wide database to track borrowers’ activity, offering extended payback programs, and more restrictive underwriting so that this issue could be resolved. But they wanted it ALL THEIR WAY and, of course, that’s what HB 545 gives them. BUT WHAT WAS THEIR MOTIVE?

These Senators, Representatives, and Governor are intelligent people, but the Governor and the majority of them saw this issue as a way to put a feather in their hat during an election year. Logic has done no good. Logic could do no good. These self-serving legislators and the Governor were willing to take away a needed service to thousands of Ohioans, put 6,500 Ohioans out of work, and remove over $200,000,000 annually that was spent by the 1600 stores in Ohio to pay wages, buy supplies, rent commercial storefronts, etc. These legislators and the Governor are using cleaver rhetoric to convince the public, which knows little about payday lending, to believe that they have done an honorable thing by getting rid of “those predatory lenders.” All this damage simply because they will do anything to get re-elected and advance their political parties and themselves. I do not feel there is anything we can do to stop them now. But we need to expose them and their self-serving deeds to the public. And the public needs to rally around efforts to remove these people from office. They are not public servants, they are self-servants. If you want to learn more please visit http://www.citizensforresponsiblegovernmentinohio.org .

By: Strickland critic

Strickland critic — Thu, 29 May 2008 19:55:07 +0000

I think he is going to wait and not do anything. That way the bill goes through like he wants and he can say that HE didnt put everyone out of a job….. unfortunantly for him it will still all be on him. Pretty funny that a guy who’s job relies on our votes is going to affect all of these voters in a negative way. Cant wait to see who the new governor will be

By: Connie

Connie — Thu, 29 May 2008 13:04:43 +0000

It is bery interesting that he states he is waiting for the bill to come to him. According to Ohio’s website it was presented to Governor Strickland on May 22 and he has until June 3 to act on it.