A new national study says a typical payday loan borrower pays $793 for a $325 loan. In Utah, according to the Center for Responsible Lending study, payday loan stores collect at least $69 million in excess, "predatory" fees each year from folks who end up trapped in debt.

The problem is pervasive. There are more payday loan stores in Utah than 7-Eleven convenience stores, McDonald's, Burger Kings and Subway restaurants combined. Many are concentrated in areas that are poor, heavily Hispanic or are near Hill Air Force Base, where service members and their families struggle to make ends meet.

Consumer groups are asking states to cap the interest that payday lenders can charge to 36 percent a year. This would be a substantial improvement in Utah, where payday lenders charge an average of 521 percent. Utah lawmakers should lead out on this issue.

While most people consider an average 521 percent interest rate to be unconscionable, a measure to rein in allowable interest charges faces an uphill battle. An attempt to cap the high interest rates failed in a previous legislative session amid cries that it signaled a return of usury caps, which were erased by the Legislature in the 1980s. Since the general session, payday lenders have given some $25,750 to the campaigns of winning legislators.

For many people, payday lenders are the lenders of last resort. Some customers lack access to traditional forms of credit or they have such poor credit histories that they cannot obtain loans or credit cards. Others are people in crisis who need a few hundred dollars to pay a medical bill, keep utilities going or even buy food. They may be vulnerable to pitches regarding the ease of obtaining — and repaying — these loans.

Some will argue that free enterprise is the best regulatory force. But government does set limits in other areas of commerce to ensure that businesses do not run roughshod over customers, investors or competitors. When a business collects millions in "fees" and charges an average of 521 percent interest, government has just cause to protect consumers.