The League of Women Voters hosted a balanced debate about payday lending and a 36 percent APR cap in Iowa.  You can read the entire story here, but there is one qupte from payday lending opponent Victor Elias that demonstrates the paternalistic attitude that industry critics constantly display:

Elias addressed what would happen if payday loans were limited to 36 percent APR.

“What would people do for credit in that circumstance? They would forego unnecessary expenditures, they’d borrow from family members or perhaps they wouldn’t pay for cable TV for a month. One-third of the people in the country don’t have access to payday loans because they’re illegal in the state they live in. This payday debt trap should not be going on in this state either,” said Elias.

Why do payday opponents always believe they know how best to budget other people’s money?