How is this not political suicide?
October 9, 2008 | Ohio, employees | Comments (0)Unemployment figures from August in Ohio were at 7.4% yet former Attorneys General Betty Montgomery and Jim Petro and candidates Mike Crites and Richard Cordray all support banning payday lending in Ohio when they know it will cost at least 6,000 jobs! Talk about cold-hearted! Putting your constituents out of work in an economy like this!
What’s going to happen to us?
August 29, 2008 | Ohio, employees | Comments (0)Payday lenders in Ohio are facing a bleak future. Tax paying businesses shuttered, leases broken, employees laid off. It’s scary how quickly the government can take one’s livelyhood away.
Ohio Chamber of Commerce Backs Financial Choice, Jobs and Competition
August 25, 2008 | Ohio, customers, employees, positive media coverage | Comments (1)Ohio Chamber of Commerce Backs
Ohioans For Financial Freedom
To Keep Jobs and Consumer Choice
COLUMBUS, OH – The Board of Directors of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce has given its support to Ohioans For Financial Freedom saying imposing overbroad government regulations is not the way to revitalize Ohio’s economy.
“The Ohio Chamber champions free enterprise and economic competitiveness and we believe HB 545, as passed by the Ohio General Assembly, runs counter to our mission”, said Andrew E. Doehrel, president and CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. “This new law, if not reined in by Ohio voters, will drive an entire industry and 6,000 good-paying jobs out of our state.”
If HB 545 goes into effect it means the loss of nearly $300 million to Ohio’s economy including $172.6 million in annual employee payroll, benefits and payroll taxes, $76.8 million lost in rent revenue to landlords across the state, and $23 million lost in advertising vendors. In response to this legislation, most of the major payday lending companies have announced they will close stores in Ohio putting as many as 6,000 jobs with benefits in jeopardy.
“As we strive to turn around our economy we must allow the free market to meet consumer demands and facilitate the creation of much needed jobs”, said Doehrel.
With 1,600 stores in the state, consumer demand for short-term credit is clear. Payday advance fills a need not met by traditional financial institutions and is a convenient, less costly option for short-term, unsecured credit. Removing access to reasonably-regulated storefront payday lending will force consumers into more expensive, and possibly even less-desirable, alternatives.
Ohioans For Financial Freedom is working to repeal section (3) of HB 545 offering consumers more lending options.
Founded in 1893, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce is Ohio’s largest statewide business advocacy group. The Chamber works to promote and protect the interests of its members – large and small – while building a more favorable Ohio business climate.
Unemployment fears expressed in payday advance debate
March 6, 2008 | Colorado, Rocky Mountain News, alternatives, customers, employees, industry, media coverage, research, states | Comments (0)Payday lenders, employees and customers are testifying before the Colorado legislature in an effort to keep their livelihood and consumer finance options intact in the face of special interest groups that want to destroy the payday advance industry. Some of the key points brought out in this Rocky Mountain News item include:
“Employees expressed concern about their jobs, while customers testified that the loans got them through tough times.”
As the nation totters on the edge of a full-blown recession, should state legislatures really be adding to the problems of unemployment and fewer personal finance options? You may recall a recent Federal Reserve Bank study that outlined the problems working Americans faced following previous payday advance bans, so why in the world would Colorado want to put its people through the same misery, which may well be even worse if the economy does slip into recession?
Then there’s this little chestnut the special interests like to toss around from time to time when people talk about destroying jobs and eliminating consumer choice by banning the payday advance industry:
‘”Innovative businesses” and credit unions “would step into the void,” he (State Sen. Peter Groff) said.’
Right. Payday Pundit has already exposed how one credit union plan in Pennsylvania forces customers to borrow more than they need to just so the lender can sock consumers with high loan interest fees while paying a veritable pittance in returns. Meanwhile other bank fees are soaring.
And by the way, why would a legislature want to create a marketplace “void,” in the first place? This just doesn’t pass the smell test.
Between adding to unemployment woes, reducing consumer choice and forcing borrowers into higher priced alternatives, it’s no wonder the Rocky Mountain News has editorialized in favor of letting the payday advance industry remain in marketplace.
