From this article in the Palm Beach Post about the housing crisis: 

One {example of digging a deeper hole} is if homeowners are taking extreme measures to make their mortgage payments, such as taking out payday loans or loans from their retirement accounts.

The average payday loan is between $300-350.   The average monthly mortgage payment is around $1700, so it’s unlikely this is very common.  However, if someone has a small mortgage, say $300-$500, and his or her payment is due before their payday, a payday loan might make perfect sense.

In an otherwise decent article about problems working people are having in this economy, and the financial choices facing them, a consumer counseling executive is quoted saying: 

“There’s been a surge in the number of people going to payday-advance lenders, but we encourage people to really understand what the costs are going to be…”

Newsflash:  Consumers use payday loans, in part, because they know exactly what the costs will be.  It’s the most transparent consumer financial service there is.   No hidden costs, no fine print.

The Center for Consumer Freedom’s opinion piece we blogged about yesterday was picked up by another newpaper today.   It makes a strong case against government paternalism, and we’re glad to see newspapers devoting some space to this argument.