Media bias alert
December 20, 2008 | Pennsylvania, alternatives, industry, media coverage | Comments (2)Most reporters love Big Government. In this story out of Pennsylvania, the “Better Choice” program, a lending program funded with $20 million in government subsidies, is lauded as much better than a payday loan. Maybe for some people it is, but it’s not really an “alternative.” It’s a 90-day loan.
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but it’s not really an “alternative.” It’s a 90-day loan.
That’s like saying credit cards aren’t an alternative to payday loans because the former is an open-ended, revolving line of credit.
Of course it’s an alternative. The difference is that one can’t trap consumers in a cycle of debt but the other can and does.
Any loan can trap people who can’t afford to pay it back in a cycle of debt, Arthur, just as any sale of wine can trap people in a cycle of alcoholism and any sale of desserts can trap people in a cycle of obesity. Nevertheless most people learn to use these things responsibly, if not at the beginning then at least over time as they get bad results from irresponsible use.
There are a million things that people who want to advance their careers or fancy themselves as muckrakers can call for increased regulation on, but apart from situations where products and services are advertised or presented in a dishonest way the fact is we are much better off with freedom of commerce than with more and more laws passed by politicians whose wisdom and honesty are not always matched by their zeal to control.
If you want to help those who get caught in a cycle of debt with payday loans then lobby the government to offer them assistance and do it without criticizing payday lenders, who happen to offer an honest service which has saved many people from terrible jams and which many more utilize to good effect. When people criticize payday lending – by distorting the meaning of the APR and focusing solely on those who misuse the product – it simply means they are looking for someone to step on so they can toot their own horn.