The Arizona Daily Star misses the point
May 29, 2008 | media coverage | Comments (0)In an editorial opposing the Arizona initiative, the Arizona Daily Star fails to understand the entire point…consumers want (and deserve) to have a variety of choices when it comes to credit. If asked, consumers will tell you that they are best off if they have all of the information about different credit products and left to make the decision about what’s best for them. It does not help anyone to limit choices.
Arizonians do have alternatives when they face unexpected or unbudgeted expenses between paychecks. They can take out cash advances on credit cards, they can see what products are offered by their bank or credit union (all payday lending customers have checking accounts), they can pawn a personal item, borrow from friends/family/church. Or they can bounce a check, pay a bill late or not pay a bill at all. Or they can take out a payday advance.
If the Arizona Daily Star is really looking out for the hard-working people of Arizona, they would be encouraging more lenders to enter the market or providing financial education to their readers. Advocating for taking away credit options helps no one.
Their point that the money spent on fees “would have benefited the state more had it been spent on clothing, food and household items instead of going to payday lenders,” just proves they have not taken the time to speak to the hundreds of thousands of customers who have used payday advances in Arizona to gain any understand of why they use payday advances.
Comments»
No comments yet.