Payday Pundit

The Attorney General of Arkansas has created business for payday lenders in Texas.  Yes, people are crossing the border to Texas because of the crackdown on payday lending in Arkansas. 

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El Paso, Texas is strangely unaffected by the current financial crisis, at least as far as lending is concerned.  From the story: 
Norma Drinkwin, vice president of marketing for the El Paso Area Teachers Federal Credit Union, said credit is not a problem for individuals in El Paso because of the huge number of credit unions and […]

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First Cash in Texas has stopped adding payday loan operations.

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In El Paso, they are.  From the story: 
Many Sun City residents are finding it hard to get a loan as looming concerns over the state of our nation’s financial system hit home. As local credit unions feel the credit crunch, payday loans institutions are booming.
“Credit is very hard to get,” said Sam Diaz, the President […]

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That’s how a strip mall owner in Texas describes a payday lending store he is hoping to lure to a development.  “God bless, Texas,” as the song goes.    Here’s the story. 

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Jim Hightower was once an upcoming Texas Democrat in the 1980s and 90s, a populist adored by the media.   Now he’s just another guy with a newspaper column who lives in the past.   This column accuses the payday lending industry of targeting the military.  
Jim, the payday lending industry hasn’t made loans to the military for […]

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Fmr. Senator John Edwards was in Texas yesterday to raise awareness about poverty.  He was joined by State Senator Rodney Ellis, who was raising awareness about his plans to limit Texans’ financial freedoms.  You’d think Edwards would have more important things to take care of than giving this Ellis character credibility…

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From a Texas blog:
I have to ask, are the poor going to be offered low rates like the rich? Are they going to be offered overdraft protection? Are they going to be paid interest on their checking accounts? Probably not.
I think it far more likely these accounts will turn out to be like the credit […]

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This time in the Houston Chronicle.  Reporter Carolyn Feibel begins her story:
They hide cash in their homes, dodge robbers who lurk about check-cashing stores, and shell out millions in fees to payday lenders and pawnshops. They are the “un-banked” of Houston, and there are tens of thousands of them.
Like many reporters, Ms. Feibel doesn’t understand […]

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In another well put letter to the editor in response to a Star-Telegram guest editorial, Tommy Moore defends the practice of payday lending against those who would “help” consumers by taking away their choices.
As Justice Brandeis said:

Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government’s purposes are beneficial. […]

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