Payday information flawed

In his article "Payday-loan bans backfire" (Dec. 8), reporter Lee Davidson cites a "preliminary report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York" that indicates that residents in two states that have banned payday loans are no better off than before the loans were prohibited. The methodology used in the report is flawed for several reasons, but the most disturbing aspect of Davidson's article is the fact that he attributes the report to the Federal Reserve Bank. If he had taken the trouble to read even part of the report he would have seen that both the cover and the page containing the abstract have clear disclaimers that the report does not necessarily reflect the views of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York or the Federal Reserve System. In preparing this article Davidson has behaved more like a lobbyist for the payday lending business than a professional journalist.

Arthur Sutherland

Sandy