What do Ohioans think about payday loans?
May 29, 2008 | Uncategorized | Comments (0)The Forest Hills Journal posted these reader responses on payday loan legislation in Ohio:
Pay day loans are a really stupid idea, but so is smoking, drinking, gambling, etc. If people want that service and are willing to pay for it, I don’t know why government needs to get involved. There are always unintended consequences to laws like this. Will some of these desperate people turn to shoplifting, burglary, or robbery? I’m certain that some will. With the difficult times we are going through right now, I can’t think of a worse time to do this. The new rates are not high enough to compensate the companies for their risk and most will probably close. The bottom line? Thousands of more people will be out of work and tens of thousands of people with nowhere to turn when ‘their money runs out before then month does.’
Yes. Regulations are needed, as the interest rates charged by these companies quickly add up to crushing debt. Desperate people go there, as they have no alternative source for a loan, but unless they can pay off the loan within the week, find they have just added to their financial woes. But – it is important to note that these companies do provide a service that traditional lending institutions do not, and for some people a brief ‘bridge loan’ is a lifesaver, and even with the higher fee, still less costly than borrowing against a credit card or being overdrawn on a checking account. Ideally, some middle ground can be found, where payday lenders can still offer their services, but at a more reasonable rate that won’t financially cripple the people they purport to serve.
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