The winner is Carolyn L. Dessin, a law professor at Akron School of Law.  In a column today on the Cincinnati Enquirer  she essentially repeats every half-baked opinion of the Center for Responsible Lending.  

Here are just a few of the  ”facts” that make Professor Dessin the “winner.”  Payday Pundit’s points are in CAPS. 

She says: “The people who seek payday loans are generally in extremely bad financial shape.”  THERE IS NO EVIDENCE OF THIS.  PLEASE CITE A STUDY, PROFESSOR.

She says: “No responsible lender would lend to many of these borrowers.”   WHAT? ALL PAYDAY CUSTOMERS ARE BANKED, MOST HAVE CREDIT CARDS, A LARGE PERCENTAGE HAVE MORTGAGES.  

She says:  “The Center for Responsible Lending notes that minority and female borrowers take out a disproportionately high number of payday loans, as do members of the military.”     MEMBERS OF THE MILITARY DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO PAYDAY LOANS.  AS FOR WOMEN AND MINORITIES, THE PROFESSOR SEEMS TO BE IMPLYING THAT THEY ARE NOT CAPABLE OF MAKING GOOD FINANICAL CHOICES.   CLASSIC ELITIST CONDESCENSION. 

Professor Dessin, you need to learn to think for yourself, not take talking points from the Center for Responsible Lending.  

 

This Cincinnati Enquirer editorial demonstrates the shallowness and bias of some media.   The editoral writers just take their talking points from advocacy groups.   The Payday Pundit takes them to task:

The Enquirer:  The Senate should pass a strong reform, but it should also make sure the market can offer options for well-regulated, low-cost, short-term loans.

The Payday Pundit:  “The market,” in the form of banks, credit unions and other finanical institutions, have been trying to develop alternatives to payday loans for years.  The Enquirer believes the Ohio State Senate can wave a magic wand and come up with a short-term loan product that’s better? 

The Enquirer:  There’s a legitimate need for these loans, but not when the loan terms outstrip borrowers’ ability to repay.

The Payday Pundit:  How does an industry stay in business loaning money to people who can’t repay?

The Enquirer goes on the cite a bogus North Carolina study that purports to prove that consumers weren’t hurt when payday lenders left the state.  At least that’s what the news release on the study said, but when you examine the study itself, it tells horror stories of people not buying medications and missing other important payments.

The Cincinnati Enquirer editorial writers live in the same elitist bubble as the payday lending industry’s critics.  They are condescending, self-righteous, and philosophical (as opposed to knowledgeable). 

There’s probably more wisdom in the National Enquirer than the Cincinnati Enquirer. 

Let the Enquirer know your thoughts at .

Here is a complete text of a letter to the editor in today’s Cincinnati Enquirer:

PAYDAY LENDERS PROVIDE NEEDED SERVICE

The front-page headline “Bill would crimp payday lenders” (May 1) was wrong; it should have read “Bill would kill any option for payday loans for people who need them.” Our government representatives are again protecting us from us, by mandating how much interest can be charged for a payday loan.

As quoted in The Enquirer, “a lobbyist for Ohio Financial Service Centers Association said the 28 percent cap will put payday lenders out of business, eliminating 6,000 jobs.”

There are many people out there who need these services; people who have no other option for credit, but obviously need a loan. They are a higher risk simply because of their condition. Traditional credit facilities often won’t touch them. If the service is driven out of the state by this legislation, where will these people go when they need that help?

This legislation is a bad idea.

Chris McCormick, Amelia

In this Cincinnati Enquirer story, James Frauenberg of CheckSmart puts it in perspective:

“The profit margins in this industry are already thin,” said James Frauenberg, senior vice president of Dublin-based CheckSmart, during a meeting with the Enquirer’s editorial board. “I don’t see our landlords charging us less rent, the electric company charging us less for the lights and our employee health benefits are not going down.”

Also from the article:

Jamie Fulmer, a spokesman for Advance America, said payday lenders fill a void for tight households that need money for an unexpected expense.

“Banks used to offer customers a few hundred bucks to tide people over to the next paycheck, but they don’t do that anymore because they make more money in fee businesses,” he said.

The Payday Pundit will be posting more developments from Ohio later in the day.  

That’s a direct quote from Ohio State Representive Shawn Webster who makes the important point that one industry is being singled out.  This Cincinnati Enquirer story also contains this remarkable quote: 

“Our national debt is outrageous – $124,000 for a family of four – and consumer debt is at an all-time high – $8,300 per person,” said House Speaker Jon Husted, R-Kettering. “The bill we passed today helps to end the cycle of entrapment that has found Ohioans in circumstances they simply cannot escape.”

Payday loans are responsible for the national debt?  And the $8,300 debt per person he cites is about the amount of credit card debt every American has.