The AP gives a comprehensive overview of the current legislation in S.C. as well as next steps.

The Pundit would like to take this opportunity to convey his respect for Speaker of the S.C. House of Representatives, Bobby Harrell.  While he may have lead the charge on a new S.C. regulation on the payday lending industry, he also took a moment to profess respect for consumer choice, and for that I applaud him.  News and Press Online quotes Harrel:

“While there are some people who wanted to see us ban this industry or regulate it out of existence, clearly there is a demand from consumers for this particular service.”

Ah, such rationality and respect–it’s a breath of fresh air.

The Free Times is a free weekly in Columbia, S.C. I’ll grant you that the free weekly format lends itself to extended editorials masquerading as news, but their story on the payday lending industry would make it’s kissing cousin the unabashed East Bay Express blush.  Asserting facts with no attributions? 19 words out of almost 500 given to the industry–and a quote with no attribution at that?  Back to journalism school with Corey Hutchins! There we can only hope that the curriculum properly addresses citations, balanced reporting, and perhaps a seminar on how to listen critically to viewpoints that differ from one’s own.